New funding for targeted treatment of Epstein–Barr virus cancers

Shoerd Wanrooij and his collegues receive funding for the project "A Precision DNA-Based Tool to Switch Off Epstein–Barr Virus Genes in Brain Lymphoma".

ImageMattias Pettersson

It is fantastic to see this work recognized!

It is fantastic to see this work recognized!,” says Sjoerd Wanrooij, Associate Professor at the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics at Umeå University.

The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infects most people at some point in their lives and usually remains harmless. However, the virus contributes to around 300,000 new cancer cases worldwide each year and approximately 170,000 deaths, including several types of lymphoma as well as stomach and nasopharyngeal cancers. Despite its major impact on global health, there are currently no treatments that specifically target EBV-associated cancers.

The funding call was highly competitive, with a success rate of just 6 percent. The two-year project brings together the expertise of Professor Sjoerd Wanrooij's research group and Associate Professor Erik Chorell's group at Umeå University, in collaboration with Ka-Wei Tang, Senior Lecturer in Infectious Diseases at the University of Gothenburg.

Most current cancer drugs act on proteins. This new strategy works one step earlier, directly on viral DNA.

Most current cancer drugs act on proteins. This new strategy works one step earlier, directly on viral DNA. The research aims to develop a molecule that can selectively switch off cancer-promoting Epstein–Barr virus genes in a form of brain lymphoma while leaving human host cell DNA untouched. By targeting the virus at the genetic level, the researchers hope to establish the basis for a new treatment strategy.

“The molecule combines a DNA guide with a chemical fragment to selectively switch off genes in the Epstein–Barr virus without affecting healthy human DNA. This level of selectivity has been missing in previous approaches and is what makes the strategy unique,” explains Sjoerd Wanrooij.

 Alva Abrahamsson, a PhD student in the Department of Chemistry, is one of the early-career researchers whose work contributed to the preliminary findings that laid the foundation for the newly awarded research grant.

ImageHans Karlsson

Much of the preliminary data that made this grant possible came from three early-career researchers who collaborated across three research groups, largely on their own initiative.

“Their positive energy and dedication were instrumental in building the collaboration and bringing the project to this stage,” says Sjoerd Wanrooij.

PhD student Alva Abrahamsson refined the chemistry that transformed the original concept into a functional molecule. PhD student Isak Holmqvist demonstrated that Epstein–Barr virus DNA structures can be targeted by this type of molecule in cells. Postdoctoral fellow Namrata Chaudhari developed the two-part design that confers the molecule's selectivity.

Proof-of-concept funding is designed to help researchers take the crucial step from a promising scientific discovery to a potential product, method, or treatment that can be used in society. In simple terms, it seeks to answer the question: "Can this research idea actually work in practice?"

If successful, the project could lay the foundation for an entirely new class of antiviral cancer therapies that target cancer-causing viruses at their genetic source.