The gammaherpesvirus thymidine kinase

疱疹病毒是一种普遍存在的感染，在免疫抑制患者中引起许多临床问题。迄今为止，最有效的治疗方法是抗病毒药物，如阿昔洛韦，它利用了一种称为胸苷激酶（TK）的病毒酶。γ-疱疹病毒有这种酶，但它是一种比α-疱疹病毒弱得多的酶，阿昔洛韦是针对α-疱疹病毒开发的。我们怀疑γ-疱疹病毒TK具有不同的功能，因此最好通过不同类型的药物进行攻击。人类γ-疱疹病毒只感染灵长类动物，使得许多实验不切实际。因此，我们使用一种相关的鼠病毒MHV-68来定义γ-疱疹病毒TK的作用。我们知道MHV-68 TK对小鼠中的病毒复制很重要。我们现在的目标是找出原因，特别是它是否以与α-疱疹病毒TK相同的方式起作用，或者它是否具有非常不同的功能，以不同的方式被最好地抑制。通过了解MHV-68 TK的工作原理，我们应该能够为γ-疱疹病毒感染的有效TK治疗提供基础。

Herpesviruses are ubiquitous infections and cause many clinical problems in immunosuppressed patients. The most effective treatment to date has been anti-viral drugs such as aciclovir, which exploit a viral enzyme called thymidine kinase (TK). The gamma-herpesviruses have this enzyme, but it is a much weaker enzyme than that of alpha-herpesviruses, against which aciclovir was developed. We suspect that the gamma-herpesvirus TK has different functions, and might therefore best be attacked through different types of drugs.The human gamma-herpesviruses only infect primates, making many experiments impractical. We are therefore defining what the gamma-herpesvirus TK does using a related murine virus, called MHV-68. We know that the MHV-68 TK is important for viral replication in mice. We aim now to work out why, specifically whether it works in the same way as the alpha-herpesvirus TK, or whether it has very different functions that would be best inhibited in different ways. By understanding how the MHV-68 TK works, we should be able to provide a basis for effective TK-based therapies in gamma-herpesvirus infections.