Some cancers and chronic inflammatory diseases are treated with immunotherapies. This involves stimulating the patient’s immune system so that it recognises and destroys tumour cells. In order to improve such therapies, scientists are looking for mechanisms that are involved in triggering an immune response. Based on this, further helpful molecules can be developed.

Scientists have now discovered one such mechanism in an unexpected place: they have discovered that there is a direct link between centromeres – the areas of the chromosomes that are primarily important for cell division – and the immune system. The research results were published in the renowned scientific journal Cell.

The work was made possible by the use of virus mutants produced by the team of RESIST researcher Prof. Dölken, Head of the Institute of Virology at Hannover Medical School (MHH), for use in research. The viruses are herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1). The study was carried out at the Institut Curie, Paris, France, by Prof. Nicolas Manel (INSERM) and Dr. Xavier Lahaye (CNRS) in collaboration with the team of Prof. Daniele Fachinetti (CNRS).

Viruses are valuable tools for research. They can infect cells, hijack their functions and trigger strong immune responses. Herpes viruses are particularly interesting because they can even penetrate the nucleus of the cell. “Prof. Manel’s research team has discovered that the viruses that have penetrated the cell nucleus disrupt the stability of the centromeres, which leads to selective DNA replication of these chromosome regions. This unusual DNA replication is recognised by the cell and triggers an activation of the cell’s own immune system and thus a systemic antiviral reaction,” explains Prof. Dölken. “The hope is that the identification and decoding of the underlying mechanisms will lead to the development of new immunotherapies against viruses or cancer.”

The photo shows Prof. Dölken at the MHH Institute of Virology. The screen shows the image of a chromosome with the centromere in the centre.

Copyright for the photo: Karin Kaiser / MHH
Copyright for the image on the screen: iStock/peterschreiber.media