Oncogenic viral infection triggers LAMP2A SUMOylation and chaperone-mediated autophagy to promote tumorigenesis.

Oncogenic viruses induce LAMP2A SUMOylation via TRIM32, activating chaperone-mediated autophagy and promoting tumor growth and viral persistence.

• Why it matters: Understanding how viruses manipulate autophagy pathways is crucial for developing targeted therapies against virus-associated cancers, which often resist conventional treatments.
• What they did: The study used Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus as a model to show that TRIM32 mediates SUMO2/3 conjugation of LAMP2A at specific lysine residues, leading to CMA activation.
• The result: Inhibiting SUMOylated LAMP2A effectively reduces tumor growth and viral persistence, highlighting LAMP2A as a promising target for antiviral and anticancer therapies.