The vCKBP-3 Encoded by Gammaherpesvirus

The discovery of vCKBPs in the poxviruses raised an important question is the production of a secreted vCKBP an immune evasion strategy unique to the poxviruses, or is it also exploited by other mammalian viruses The herpesviruses are an obvious virus family in which to search for novel activities since they, like the poxviruses, have large DNA genomes encoding numerous genes involved in immune evasion. 

An interesting question derived from these studies is why viruses utilize different strategies to modulate chemokine activity. While vCKBPs have been identified mainly in poxviruses, herpesviruses frequently encode vCKs and vCKRs. This may reflect the need to modulate different aspects of chemokine biology as a result of diverse viral replication mechanisms. 

The identification of three vCKBPs with no amino acid sequence similarity among themselves or to cellular receptors is providing us with novel protein structures capable of neutralizing chemokines in solution. Elucidation of the interaction of these vCKBPs with chemokines at the molecular level will provide some of the most interesting findings in this area of research. 

Future studies will no doubt further assess the utility of viral chemokine inhibitors in other models of inflammation. It is interesting that products derived from pathogenic viruses hold substantial promise for the treatment of human inflammatory diseases. 

SfJt acknowledge support from the Wellcome Trust. AA is a Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow. 

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