Induced pluripotent stem cell derived neuronallineages as human cellular models for Herpes Simplex Virus, type 1 (HSV-1) infections

ABSTRACT: Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a 152 Kb double stranded DNA alpha-herpesvirus, which establishes long life latent infection in sensory neurons. Most of our knowledge regarding HSV-1 latency comes from in vivo studies using small animal models, mainly rodents and rabbits, which are not naturally infected by HSV-1. Furthermore, these animal models do not fully recapitulate the species specific effects of human HSV-1 infection. Human cellular models utilize trigeminal ganglia removed from cadavers or, alternatively, neuron-like cells derived from cancerous cell lines that do not fully reflect effects on normal human neurons. This limitation poses the need to develop an in vitromodel to investigate molecular details of the mechanisms underlying quiescence and reactivation in human neurons. Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) celltechnologies offer an unprecedented opportunity to generate unlimited supplies of neurons and the facility to manipulate such cells in vitro. In this study, we developed an in vitro HSV-1 infection model in human iPS-derived neurons, which displays the main hallmarks of latency defined in animal models and in humans. Our results show for the first time that: i) persistent infection cannot be established in neural progenitor cells (NPCs); ii) the ability of HSV-1 to establish persistent infection is extended to glutamatergic neurons, and not limited to sensory neurons; iii) in neuronal cultures persistently infected with HSV-1, viral genome is localized at the nuclear periphery; iv) HSV-1 acute infection reduces RNA editing at the GluRB site. These results highlight the importance of iPS-based platforms to elucidate unknown aspects of HSV-1 quiescence in human neurons. NPCs were 70-80% confluence

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

SUBMITTER: Leonardo D'Aiuto 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-46042 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress