# HCMV-mediated repurposing of AMPK & CaMKK signaling for productive infection

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 2020 · $385,000

## Abstract

Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a major cause of congenital birth defects and causes severe disease in a
wide variety of immunosuppressed patient populations, including hematological cancer patients and transplant
recipients. We have found that HCMV institutes a pro-viral metabolic program that drives numerous cellular
metabolic activities to support the production of viral progeny. Key aspects of this metabolic reprogramming
include targeting the AMP-activated kinase (AMPK) and the calmodulin dependent-kinase kinase (CamKK),
both of which we find are critical for successful HCMV infection. Further, our data indicate that the HCMV UL26
protein is an important viral metabolic determinant that activates fatty acid biosynthesis, a metabolic pathway
essential for infection. Many questions remain about how these factors contribute to metabolic reprogramming
and successful infection. To address these questions, we will pursue the following aims: 1) Elucidate how
AMPK contributes to HCMV-mediated metabolic reprogramming; 2) Determine how calmodulin-dependent
kinase kinase signaling contributes to HCMV infection; and, 3) Elucidate how the HCMV UL26 protein
contributes to viral metabolic reprogramming. We expect the outcome of our research to be the identification of
specific mechanisms through which HCMV manipulates metabolic regulation to support infection. The
proposed work will broaden our understanding of an important host pathogen interaction, and given that these
processes are essential for productive infection, the proposed experiments will highlight novel targets for
therapeutic intervention.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9999284
- **Project number:** 5R01AI127370-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** JOSHUA C MUNGER
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $385,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-09-23 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9999284

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9999284, HCMV-mediated repurposing of AMPK & CaMKK signaling for productive infection (5R01AI127370-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9999284. Licensed CC0.

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