Unknown

Dataset Information

0

Herpesviral latency-associated transcript gene promotes assembly of heterochromatin on viral lytic-gene promoters in latent infection.


ABSTRACT: Herpes simplex virus (HSV) persists in its human host and evades the immune response by undergoing a latent infection in sensory neurons, from which it can reactivate periodically. HSV expresses >80 gene products during productive ("lytic") infection, but only the latency-associated transcript (LAT) gene is expressed at abundant levels during latent infection. The LAT gene has been shown to repress lytic-gene expression in sensory neurons. In this study, we use chromatin immunoprecipitation to show that HSV lytic-gene promoters become complexed with modified histones associated with heterochromatin during the course of establishment of latent infection. Experiments comparing LAT-negative and LAT-positive viruses show that a function encoded by the LAT gene increases the amount of dimethyl lysine 9 form of histone H3 or heterochromatin and reduces the amount of dimethyl lysine 4 form of histone H3, a part of active chromatin, on viral lytic-gene promoters. Thus, HSV, and in particular the HSV LAT gene, may manipulate the cellular histone modification machinery to repress its lytic-gene expression and contribute to the persistence of its genome in a quiescent form in sensory neurons.

SUBMITTER: Wang QY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1266038 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

Similar Datasets

| S-EPMC189734 | biostudies-other
| S-EPMC4725016 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC4824392 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC4922595 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC6917492 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC5862956 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC7730162 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC3141057 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC8295918 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC3828183 | biostudies-literature