Funded by the Stuart Scott Memorial Cancer Research Fund
About 15% of human cancers are caused by viruses. By stopping these viruses, we can reduce cancer cases. Kaposi sarcoma and pleural effusion lymphoma (PEL) are cancers caused by a virus called KSHV. We don’t have enough treatments to stop KSHV from spreading.This project will study how a protein called Angiogenin (ANG) helps stop KSHV from spreading. As a secreted factor that promotes blood vessel formation, ANG can help tumors grow, but we discovered an important anti-viral activity of ANG in Kaposi sarcoma. We found that when KSHV becomes active in primary effusion lymphoma, it creates fragments of tRNA (a type of RNA) that block viral replication. ANG helps make these fragments, and without ANG, KSHV spreads more.The goals of this project are:To see how ANG stops KSHV from spreading.To understand how ANG and tRNA fragments affect protein production.This research could greatly help cancer patients, especially those with Kaposi sarcoma and pleural effusion lymphoma. By learning how ANG stops the KSHV virus, new medicines could be made to stop the virus and cancer from spreading, which may be applicable to treating other tumor-causing viruses. With better treatments, patients could live longer. Overall, this research could lead to new ways to treat virus-related cancers, giving patients hope for better outcomes and a better life.
