Viral infections are known to be a central cause of more than 10% of cancers worldwide. University of California researchers may have uncovered one of the key reasons why. Their findings were published today in PLOS Pathogens, a journal that reports groundbreaking work to advance understanding of how pathogens impact diseases such as cancer.
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher Yoshihiro Izumiya teamed up with Michiko Shimoda, who previously worked in the Izumiya Lab at UC Davis. Currently, she is a member of the Core Immunology Lab at UC San Francisco. Together, they led UC Davis researchers in the study of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV). The herpesvirus is linked to AIDS-related Castleman disease and multiple cancers such as Kaposi’s sarcoma and lymphomas.
Immune response disrupters
KSHV is known for causing an inflammatory cytokine syndrome and is the leading cause of cancer death in patients with HIV, especially in sub-Saharan African patients. “Cytokine storms” can cause molecules secreted from immune cells to release large amounts of white blood cells, disrupting immune response.
Viruses are infectious small particles, which can only grow in living organisms like humans. In order to grow, viruses take over the function of host proteins and the viral infections often deregulate normal cell functions. KSHV-associated diseases are known to cause hyperinflammatory conditions or dysregulation of our body’s defense mechanism.”
Yoshihiro Izumiya, Researcher, UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
Izumiya explained that immune cells help to protect against infections. Among immune cells, monocytes and macrophages are critical