# Defining Mechanisms for Parasite-Driven Effects on Gamma-Herpesvirus Latency

> **NIH NIH R01** · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · $405,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 The goal of this grant is to understand how bystander infections alter chronic infection with γ-
herpesviruses. This is important because herpesviruses infect virtually all people and persist for the life
of the host. This means that herpesvirus infection is potentially altered by exposure to bystander
infections. Even though herpesvirus infections are chronic, these viruses do not persistently replicate in
a healthy host. Instead, they establish a quiescent infection, termed latency. This latent infection with
herpesviruses is tightly controlled by the host immune system, and changes in the immune system
modulate the state of herpesvirus infection, leading to virus reactivation from latency. We found that
co-infection with an intestinal helminth parasite induced γ-herpesvirus reactivation. We identified the
host cytokines, interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 that are produced during helminth infection to be critical for
γ-herpesvirus reactivation. We also identified a viral promoter that is directly regulated by IL-4/IL-13
signaling. However, the mechanisms for helminth-mediated herpesvirus reactivation in vivo are still
incompletely understood. We will leverage our unique experimental systems of herpesvirus-helminth
co-infection to explore these mechanisms in the mouse. We hypothesize that parasite infection has
multiple effects of γ-herpesvirus infection that are dependent on the timing or order of the dual
infections. We propose to further detail the requirements for IL-4/IL-13 signaling in herpesvirus-
helminth co-infection, and to define the contribution of infection timing to the phenotypes observed.
This proposal will increase our understanding of host regulation of herpesvirus latency and the role
bystander infections play in herpesvirus infection. This is critical to understanding how these viruses
drive pathologies and alter the host immune system.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10199946
- **Project number:** 5R01AI130020-04
- **Recipient organization:** UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Tiffany Anne Reese
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $405,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-10 → 2023-02-20

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10199946

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10199946, Defining Mechanisms for Parasite-Driven Effects on Gamma-Herpesvirus Latency (5R01AI130020-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10199946. Licensed CC0.

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