# Human Herpesvirus Impact on Periodontal Inflammation

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO · 2022 · $375,965

## Abstract

Human Herpesvirus Impact on Periodontal Inflammation
 Afsar Raza Naqvi, Ph.D.
Human Herpesviruses (HHV) are large, enveloped DNA viruses that establish lifelong latency.
In adult humans, one or more types of viruses are persistently detected signifying HHV
adaptation inside human body. Multiple lines of evidence show higher prevalence of these
viruses in various oral inflammatory diseases but how HHV exacerbate these infections remains
unexplored. A unique feature of HHV, unlike other viruses, is that they also encode viral
miRNAs (v-miRs). These viral microRNAs (vmiRs) are multifunctional as they regulate
expression of both virus and host derived transcripts and thus control host-virus interaction. In
this proposal, we will study the impact of five most common oral inflammatory diseases
associated HHV viz., HCMV, HSV-1, EBV, KSHV and HHV-6B on periodontal inflammation, a
highly common oral inflammatory disease. The levels of viral miRNAs will be quantified in
patients with diseased gingiva and correlate with viral genome and life cycle associated
transcripts. We aim to characterize the role of candidate vmiRs in regulating HHV infection in
host gingival epithelial cells and macrophages. Identifying positive and negative regulatory v-
miRs can yield novel insights into host-virus interaction. The impact of vmiRs on key biological
functions of primary human oral keratinocytes and macrophages will be examined primarily by
evaluating their influence on innate response against periopathogens (P. gingivalis and A.
actinomycetemcomitans). This will shed novel insights into virus-bacterial synergy. Our next aim
will test whether vmiRs can render host immune system dysfunctional. This will be examined by
enforced expression of vmiRs in macrophages and dendritic cells. The key biological functions
of these cells include pathogen uptake, antigen processing and presentation to T helper (CD4+)
and T cytotoxic (CD8+) cells. In addition, we will assess the impact of v-miRs on the polarization
of CD4+ T cells. The data generated will provide significant information to existing knowledge
gaps. Interestingly, as vmiRs are not endogenous RNAs, they have the potential to be deployed
as potential therapeutic targets. Given their immunomodulatory role, manipulation of these small
RNAs may also be useful in the diagnosis and treatment of oral inflammatory diseases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10450654
- **Project number:** 5R01DE027980-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Afsar Raza Naqvi
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $375,965
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2024-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10450654

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10450654, Human Herpesvirus Impact on Periodontal Inflammation (5R01DE027980-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10450654. Licensed CC0.

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