the virus newly infects a cell, the lipid membrane is shed and the virion travels to the nucleus. The viral genome is released where it circularizes into an episome through a poorly understood process that appears to involve homologous recombination of the terminal repeats. The viral episome is chromatinized upon entry into the host cell nucleus. After entry, the virus typically remains in a latent ("quiet") state. Only a subset of genes that are encoded in the KSHV latency associated region (KLAR) are expressed during latency, including latency-associated nuclear antigen (LANA), vFLIP, vCyclin and 12 microRNAs. Latency is the hallmark of all KSHV-associated etiologies known to date including all KSHV-associated oncogenesis. It has been shown that both protein coding genes such as LANA and noncoding genes (microRNAs) encoded in KLAR are important for KSHV associated tumorigenesis. To study the functions of microRNAs, a detailed protocol of bacmid mutagenesis and a complete set of cell-lines carrying microRNA deletion mutants have been established and are available as a resource to researchers. Additionally, it has been shown that vFLIP and vCyclin interfere with the TGF-β signaling pathway indirectly by inducing the oncogenic host mir17-92 cluster. These observations represents a novel mechanism that may be important for KSHV tumorigenesis and angiogenesis, a hallmark of KS. During latency, LANA is the only viral protein that is required for viral replication, which is carried out by the host replication machinery. LANA tethers the viral DNA to cellular chromosomes, inhibits p53 and retinoblastoma protein and suppresses viral genes needed for full virus production and assembly ("lytic replication"). Why only a subset of virus genes expressed during latency is not fully understood. But it has been shown that the latency associated gene expression can be explained in part by a characteristic epigenetic state that KSHV episome acquires during latency. LANA plays an important role during latency, regulating both host and virus transcripts and binding to multiple active promoters; it also associates with the host protein hSET1 that creates H3K4me3 marks in chromatin. Various signals such as inflammation may provoke the virus to enter into lytic replication. The primary viral protein responsible for the switch between latent and lytic replication is known as the ORF50 Replication Transactivation Activator (RTA). When cell signaling conditions activate the generation of RTA, it in turn activates synthesis of a stereotypic cascade of secondary and tertiary viral proteins that ultimately make components of the