Communications Biology (Jun 2021)

SARS-CoV-2 proteins and anti-COVID-19 drugs induce lytic reactivation of an oncogenic virus

  • Jungang Chen,
  • Lu Dai,
  • Lindsey Barrett,
  • Jennifer James,
  • Karlie Plaisance-Bonstaff,
  • Steven R. Post,
  • Zhiqiang Qin

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-02220-z
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 4, no. 1
pp. 1 – 6

Abstract

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Chen et al. find that SARS-CoV-2 encoded proteins and some anti-COVID-19 drugs can induce lytic reactivation of Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV), one of the major human oncogenic viruses. This study suggests that KSHV-positive patients exposed to COVID-19 or undergoing its treatment may have increased risks to develop virus-associated cancers, even after they have fully recovered from COVID-19.