BIOLOGY OF HHV8/KSHV G PROTEIN COUPLED RECEPTOR

DESCRIPTION: This project focuses on a G protein-coupled receptor of HHV-8 which was found to be associated with Kaposi's sarcoma. It has recently been shown that this receptor functions via the phosphoinositide-inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate-calcium-protein kinase C signal transduction pathway, to induce cell proliferation and transformation; suggesting that HHV-8/GPCR may play a necessary, if not sufficient role in the abnormal proliferation exhibited by KS cells or lymphomatous B cells. The objectives of this research are to understand the biology of HHV-8 GPCR, and its role in the pathogenesis of KS. Three specific aims are proposed. The first is to delineate the signaling mechanisms and modes of potential regulation of HHV-8 GPCR, and the biological consequences of HHV-8 GPCR expression in various cell types, such as cos, 293T, NIH 3T3, epithelial and B cells. The second is to discover high affinity, specific ligands for HHV-8 GPCR based on analogy to known chemokines. The third is to determine the roles of HHV-8 GPCR in disease pathogenesis.