The National Fund for Scientific Research (FNRS) promotes basic research in many different fields of science, among which molecular and cellular biology. Researchers from the FNRS are working in different universities in Belgium. The Faculté Universitaire des Sciences Agronomiques is a state university that is specialized in bioengineering. The scientific focus of the Molecular and Cellular Biology laboratory is understanding the mechanisms of cancer.

Chromatin acetylation and DNA methylation may play a role in maintaining viral latent persistence of the oncogenic retroviruses like HTLV-1 (Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1) and the related bovine leukemia virus (BLV). Treatment of BLV-infected sheep with the HDAC inhibitor valproate provokes a rapid disappearance of tumours. In this context, the aims of the project are (1) to study the mechanisms of chromatin-modifying agents on BLV – induced lymphoma in sheep and (2) to explore if these inhibitors could also be used in HTLV-1 infected people. The strategy is to interfere with latent persistence and to tilt the host-pathogen balance in favour of an existing antiviral T cell response or of mechanisms of intracellular antiviral surveillance

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