# Gammaherpesvirus protein kinase: a master manipulator of the host during chronic infection.

> **NIH NIH R01** · MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN · 2022 · $548,942

## Abstract

Gammaherpesviruses establish life-long infections in >95% of adults worldwide and are associated with B
cell lymphomas. Prevention of gammaherpesvirus-driven lymphomas is currently impossible due to
absence of vaccines, curative antivirals, and defined risk factors for lymphomagenesis. All
gammaherpesviruses encode a protein kinase, a key determinant of chronic infection and pathogenesis.
This grant application aims to define the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying physiologically
relevant functions of gammaherpesvirus protein kinases during chronic infection of an intact host. Based on
our published and preliminary findings, the proposed studies test the working model that macrophage-
intrinsic IFN signaling is antagonized by an enzymatically active viral protein kinase to promote the passage
of the virus from myeloid to B cell compartment. Once viral access to B cells is gained, viral kinase
supports latent viral gene expression and engages host mechanisms to drive B cell differentiation and
establishment of chronic infection. Successful completion of the proposed studies will define molecular and
cellular mechanisms underlying functions of the conserved gammaherpesvirus protein kinase during chronic
infection of an intact natural host. Such mechanisms are likely to operate during viral lymphomagenesis
and may present novel therapeutic targets for the prevention of gammaherpesvirus-driven lymphomas.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10518464
- **Project number:** 1R01AI165578-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL COLLEGE OF WISCONSIN
- **Principal Investigator:** Vera L. Tarakanova
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $548,942
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-06-22 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10518464

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10518464, Gammaherpesvirus protein kinase: a master manipulator of the host during chronic infection. (1R01AI165578-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10518464. Licensed CC0.

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