CELL TO CELL COMMUNICATION IN MYCOBACTERIA

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. In Dr. Zhang's lab I have continued researching the relationship between the Epstein Barr Virus and cancer. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), a human herpesvirus, plays a critical role in oncogenesis of mammalian cells. The transformation process is primarily caused by the EBV latent membrane protein 1 (LMP-1). In vitro, EBV cannot transform primary B-cells without the expression of LMP-1. A dominant negative mutant of LMP-1 referred to as LMP-DM has been generated. The LMP-DM protein has the ability to inhibit cell signaling molecules which are normally regulated by LMP-1, specifically those involved in cancer formation . The purpose of this research was to test if LMP-DM has the ability to block the transformation function of LMP-1 in EBV transformed cells. A second project (May 2004-Dec2004) that I have worked on is looking at the relationship between the Human Herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), Epstein Barr Virus (EBV), and body cavity tumor formation. Co-transfection experiments using vectors containing DNA from HHV-8 and EBV along with immunoprecipitation experiments were done to determine if HHV-8 and EBV cause tumor formation, specifically by causing the expression of tumor specific proteins in vivo.