Kinetochore Proteins CENPB and LIC2 are critical for Episome Persistence and Replication of Kaposis's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus

CENP-B and LIC2 are novel kinetochore-associated host proteins whose loss significantly reduces KSHV episome stability, undermining episome persistence.

• Why it matters: KSHV maintains lifelong latency by tethering circular episomes to host chromatin and segregating them during mitosis, but the broader kinetochore contribution is not well defined.
• What they did: The authors ran a systematic shRNA screen targeting 37 kinetochore-associated host genes, then validated hits to test effects on KSHV episome maintenance.
• The result: Identifying CENP-B and LIC2 as critical factors links KSHV episome persistence to chromosome segregation machinery and expands the set of kinetochore proteins co-opted by the virus.

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