Herpes simplex virus 1 immediate early transcription initiation, pause-release, elongation, and termination in the presence and absence of ICP4.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Infection with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) leads to lifelong infection due to the virus's remarkable ability to control transcription of its own genome, resulting in two transcriptional programs: lytic (highly active) and latent (restricted). The lytic program requires immediate early (IE) proteins to first repress transcription of late viral genes, which then undergo sequential de-repression, leading to a specific sequence of gene expression. Here, we show that the IE ICP4 functions to regulate the cascade by limiting RNA polymerase initiation at immediate early times. However, late viral genes that initiate too early in the absence of ICP4 do not yield mRNA as transcription stalls within gene bodies. It follows that other regulatory steps intercede to prevent elonga

SUBMITTER: Dunn LEM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10617507 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature