Unmasking the roles of KSHV glycoproteins in virus entry and vaccine development

描述(申请人提供)：在世界范围内，发展中国家15%的所有癌症病例和近25%的癌症病例可归因于病毒。与病毒感染相关的人类癌症包括人类乳头瘤病毒、人类T细胞白血病病毒1型、爱泼斯坦-巴尔病毒、乙肝病毒、丙型肝炎病毒和卡波西肉瘤相关人类疱疹病毒(KSHV)。其中，KSHV是艾滋病毒感染者死亡的主要原因。据估计，KSHV感染占全球新增癌症病例的3.4万例。由于缺乏测试潜在候选疫苗的动物模型，开发KSHV疫苗的努力有限。通过合作，我们现在可以接触到常见的绒猴，这是一种非人类灵长类动物模型，支持KSHV感染并在受感染的人中出现典型的皮肤损害。我们还开发了一种病毒样颗粒平台，以展示KSHV包膜糖蛋白抗原作为候选疫苗，具有预防或治疗KSHV感染及其相关恶性肿瘤的潜力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Worldwide, 15% of all cancer cases and nearly 25% of cancer cases in developing countries are attributable to viruses. Human cancers associated with virus infection include human papillomavirus, human T-cell leukemia virus type 1, Epstein-Barr virus, hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated human herpesvirus (KSHV). Of these, KSHV is the leading cause of death in HIV-infected individuals. Infection of KSHV is estimated to account for 34,000 new cancer cases globally. Efforts to develop a KSHV vaccine are limited, due to lack of animal model to test the potential vaccine candidates. Through collaborations, we now have access to common marmosets, a non-human primate model that support KSHV infection and develop skin lesions typical in infected individuals. We have also developed a virus-like particle platform to display KSHV envelope glycoprotein antigens as candidate vaccines that has potential to prevent or treat KSHV infection and its associated malignancies.