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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
11:28
Dissecting Host-virus Interaction in Lytic Replication of a Model Herpesvirus
Published on: October 7, 2011
Omics-Level Approaches to Studying Gammaherpesvirus Infection
Fatima Hisam1, Anisha Reddy Konakalla1, Eranda Berisha1
1Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA.
Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 28, 2026
Summary
Gammaherpesviruses (GHVs) cause significant disease. Omics techniques reveal viral-host interactions, but metabolomics requires further study for new therapies.
Area of Science:
- Virology and Molecular Biology
- Systems Biology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Gammaherpesviruses (GHVs) are major human pathogens, causing diseases like Kaposi's sarcoma and mononucleosis.
- Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), and murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV-68) are key models for studying GHV infections.
- GHVs establish lifelong latent infections by modulating host cells, leading to dysregulation during reactivation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current knowledge on GHV infections using omics techniques.
- To identify knowledge gaps and propose future research directions, including therapeutic strategies.
- To highlight the utility of systems-level approaches for studying GHV at genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic levels.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on omics studies of GHV infections.
- Analysis of data from genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics to understand viral-host interactions.
- Assessment of metabolomic studies to identify host cellular pathway alterations during infection.
Main Results:
- Early omics studies identified conserved genes, transcripts, and proteins across EBV, KSHV, and MHV-68.
- Modern omics provide high-resolution insights into host gene, transcript, and protein modulation heterogeneity.
- Metabolomic studies reveal significant alterations in nucleotide, amino acid, and lipid synthesis pathways.
Conclusions:
- Omics techniques have significantly advanced understanding of GHV infections.
- The metabolome during GHV infection is less understood but shows critical host pathway modulations.
- Integrative omics approaches offer a promising direction for deeper insights into GHV pathogenesis and therapeutic development.
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