title: Cytokine homologs of human gammaherpesviruses.
abstract: Gammaherpesviruses such as Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, human herpesvirus 4) and Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV, human herpesvirus 8) establish lifelong infection in the host. To further this lifestyle, they encode homologs of cellular cytokines and cytokine receptors with the overarching goal to escape from or to blunt host antiviral defenses. EBV encodes mimics of human interleukin (hIL)-10 and a G protein-coupled receptor protein with sequence similarity to CXCR, whereas KSHV encodes homologs of hIL-6, 3 CC chemokine ligands, and a G protein-coupled receptor with sequence similarity to IL8 receptor alpha. This review focuses on the EBV IL-10 homolog and the KSHV IL-6 homolog with respect to virus biology and pathogenesis of the virus-associated diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Center for AIDS Research, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7290, USA.
authors.forename: Sang-Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Sin
authors.forename: Dirk P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Dittmer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D020031:Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D019288:Herpesvirus 8, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D006801:Humans; D018716:Molecular Mimicry; D053700:Receptors, Interleukin-8 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D053700:Receptors, Interleukin-8; D014764:Viral Proteins