The UL21 Tegument Protein of Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Is Differentially Required for the Syncytial Phenotype.

ABSTRACT: The initial goal of this study was to reexamine the requirement of UL21 for herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) replication. Previous studies suggested that UL21 is dispensable for replication in cell cultures, but a recent report on HSV-2 challenges those findings. As was done for the HSV-2 study, a UL21-null virus was made and propagated on complementing cells to discourage selection of compensating mutations. This HSV-1 mutant was able to replicate in noncomplementing cells, even at a low multiplicity of infection (MOI), though a reduction in titer was observed. Also, increased proportions of empty capsids were observed in the cytoplasm, suggesting a role for UL21 in preventing their exit from the nucleus. Surprisingly, passage of the null mutant resulted in rapid outgrowth of syncytial (Syn

SUBMITTER: Sarfo A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5640837 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature