The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a herpesvirus which infects more than 90% of people worldwide. While in the majority of cases the virus induces an asymptomatic infection, in a small percentage of persons, the virus contributes to malignant transformation, causing at least nine types of cancer, including Burkitt lymphoma (BL), one of the most important EBV-associated paediatric tumours. Totally, EBV accounts for 200,000 new cancer cases and over 142,000 deaths worldwide every year. However, deaths from EBV-associated cancers have increased by 14.6% since 1990 and are predicted to increase further.
Although EBV is a problem of worldwide importance, no vaccine or antiviral drug has yet been approved, in part due to the limited number of targetable virus proteins present in EBV-driven cancers. Recent scientific data suggest that the tumour cells of EBV-associated cancers such as BL express the EBV-encoded BILF1, a constitutively active G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR). GPCRs are currently the most effective class of pharmacological targets for the treatment of human conditions, and they are also becoming important anti-cancer targets. EBV-encoded BILF1 shows many similarities with other viral GPCRs and might be a realistic therapeutic target for EBV-associated malignancies. However, its function is largely unknown.
This European Fellowship has allowed a young researcher of proven ability to investigate the role of BILF1 in lymphomagenesis in an internationally renowned laboratory. Specifically, the EU-funded VirGO project aimed to: (i) explore the role of BILF1 in EBV-negative germinal centre B-cell (GC-B) transformation, the progenitor of BL; (ii) identify how BILF1 contributes to the established phenotype of BL cells; (iii) and link these phenotypes to BL primary tumour pathological features and to patient response to therapy.
