Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a very common virus that most of us carry for life. It usually stays silent, but in people with weakened immune systems and in patients with cancer it can wake up again. In brain tumour patients, we see HCMV reactivation in about half of the cases, and when this happens the tumour tends to return quickly and patients live for a shorter time. Our studies suggest that antiviral treatment can counteract this. Many cancer cells, inflammatory cells and HCMV-infected cells share an abnormal way of handling energy and nutrients: they consume sugar quickly and build large amounts of new cell material. Our recent work points to the cell's mitochondria – its “power stations” – as the central switch for this state. In this project we will use HCMV as a tool to understand how this metabolic switch is turned on, and test whether blocking key mitochondrial control points can calm harmful inflammation, slow tumour growth and improve treatment of HCMV-related disease.

2026

2030