@ARTICLE{10.3389/fimmu.2011.00019, AUTHOR={Damania, Blossom and Jacobs, Sarah}, TITLE={The Viral Interferon Regulatory Factors of KSHV: Immunosuppressors or Oncogenes?}, JOURNAL={Frontiers in Immunology}, VOLUME={2}, YEAR={2011}, URL={https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2011.00019}, DOI={10.3389/fimmu.2011.00019}, ISSN={1664-3224}, ABSTRACT={Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) is a large double-stranded DNA gammaherpesvirus, and the etiological agent for three human malignancies: Kaposi’s sarcoma, primary effusion lymphoma, and multicentric Castleman’s disease. To establish and maintain infection, KSHV has evolved unique mechanisms to evade the host immune response. Cellular interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) are a critical part of the host anti-viral immune response. KSHV encodes four homologs of IRFs, vIRF1–4, which inhibit the activity of their cellular counterparts. vIRF1, 2, and 3 have been shown to interact directly with cellular IRFs. Additionally, the vIRFs have other functions such as modulation of Myc, p53, Notch, transforming growth factor-β, and NF-κB signaling. These activities of vIRFs may contribute to KSHV tumorigenesis. KSHV vIRF1 and vIRF3 have been implicated as oncogenes, making the understanding of KSHV vIRF function vital to understanding KSHV pathogenesis.} }