Research
It is estimated that ~20% of all cancers are caused by oncogenic viruses. We study the Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), also known as the human herpesvirus 8 (HHV8). KSHV is known to cause several malignancies and lymphoproliferative disorders in the context of immunosuppression (e.g. in people living with HIV/AIDS). Two of these major KSHV-associated cancers are Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) and the aggressive primary effusion lymphoma (PEL), both of which are considered to be AIDS-defining cancers. To date, no vaccines or drugs have been approved to prevent or treat these diseases.
Our lab aims to understand the molecular mechanisms of viral oncogenesis by KSHV using both molecular and genome-wide approaches. Areas of specific interest include:
Viral factors involved in the survival and proliferation of tumor cells. While the KSHV genome encodes >100 genes, only a subset of these viral genes has been directly studied in the context of PEL. We are using CRISPR screens to systematically interrogate the contributions of coding and non-coding viral transcripts in the survival of PEL tumor cells in a high throughput manner.
PEL-specific oncogenic dependencies. We previously demonstrated that PEL cell lines are addicted to the expression of 210 cellular genes called PEL-specific oncogenic dependencies (Nature Communications, 2018). We are investigating the functions of these PSODs in altering cellular metabolism, cell biology and promoting viral latency and genome maintenance.
Latest News (for more)
September 23, 2024
- We have two new preprints in bioRxiv including our MCL1-MARCHF5 project which our INBRE students have worked on the past year!
- The Mitochondrial Ubiquitin Ligase MARCHF5 Cooperates with MCL1 to Inhibit Apoptosis in KSHV-Transformed Primary Effusion Lymphoma Cell Lines (Prasanth, Justine, Jax, Aly, Allie, Daniel, Mark)
- Cytotoxicity of Activator Expression in CRISPR-based Transcriptional Activation Systems (Mark)
July 26, 2024
- Allie finishes her INBRE Summer Internship in the lab. She presented her work at the Arkansas Undergraduate Summer Research Symposium last July 24. Her abstract was one of twelve chosen from 53 submissions to give an Oral Presentation in the main session (see below). Way to go Allie! And we are lucky to have you in the lab!
July 9, 2024
- Our review article was just accepted at Current Clinical Microbiology Reports. Congratulations Justine and our collaborators from the Forrest Lab! You can access the article here.
June 3, 2024
- Allie Farrar from Hendrix College starts her Arkansas INBRE Summer Fellowship. She will be working on how MARCHF5 interacts with the pro-apoptotic protein NOXA.
August 1, 2023
- The lab received R21 funding from the National Cancer Institute! We are grateful to the NIH/NCI for continuing to support our research.
May 26, 2023
- We welcome Aly Navarro from UARK Fayetteville as our Arkansas INBRE Summer Fellow!