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Influence of herpes simplex virus 1 latency-associated transcripts on the establishment and maintenance of latency in the ROSA26R reporter mouse model.

ABSTRACT: Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) can establish life-long latent infection in sensory neurons, from which periodic reactivation can occur. During latency, viral gene expression is largely restricted to the latency-associated transcripts (LATs). While not essential for any phase of latency, to date the LATs have been shown to increase the efficiency of both establishment and reactivation of latency in small-animal models. We sought to investigate the role of LAT expression in the frequency of latency establishment within the ROSA26R reporter mouse model utilizing Cre recombinase-encoding recombinant viruses harboring deletions of the core LAT promoter (LAP) region. HSV-1 LAT expression was observed to influence the number of latently infected neurons in trigeminal but not dorsal root ganglia. Furthermore, the relative frequencies of latency establishment of LAT-positive and LAT-negative viruses are influenced by the inoculum dose following infection of the mouse whisker pads. Finally, analysis of the infected cell population at two latent time points revealed a relative loss of latently infected cells in the absence of LAT expression. We conclude that the HSV-1 LATs facilitate the long-term stability of the latent cell population within the infected host and that interpretation of LAT establishment phenotypes is influenced by infection methodology.

SUBMITTER: Nicoll MP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3421754 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Influence of herpes simplex virus 1 latency-associated transcripts on the establishment and maintenance of latency in the ROSA26R reporter mouse model.

Nicoll M P MP Proença J T JT Connor V V Efstathiou S S

Journal of virology 20120613 16

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) can establish life-long latent infection in sensory neurons, from which periodic reactivation can occur. During latency, viral gene expression is largely restricted to the latency-associated transcripts (LATs). While not essential for any phase of latency, to date the LATs have been shown to increase the efficiency of both establishment and reactivation of latency in small-animal models. We sought to investigate the role of LAT expression in the frequency of latenc ...[more]

PMID: 22696655

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Project description:The cellular insulator protein CTCF plays a role in herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) latency through the establishment and regulation of chromatin boundaries. We previously found that the CTRL2 regulatory element downstream from the latency-associated transcript (LAT) enhancer was bound by CTCF during latency and underwent CTCF eviction at early times postreactivation in mice latently infected with 17syn+ virus. We also showed that CTRL2 was a functional enhancer-blocking insulator in both epithelial and neuronal cell lines. We hypothesized that CTRL2 played a direct role in silencing lytic gene expression during the establishment of HSV-1 latency. To test this hypothesis, we used a recombinant virus with a 135-bp deletion spanning only the core CTRL2 insulator domain (ΔCTRL2) in the 17syn+ background. Deletion of CTRL2 resulted in restricted viral replication in epithelial cells but not neuronal cells. Following ocular infection, mouse survival decreased in the ΔCTRL2-infected cohort, and we found a significant decrease in the number of viral genomes in mouse trigeminal ganglia (TG) infected with ΔCTRL2, indicating that the CTRL2 insulator was required for the efficient establishment of latency. Immediate early (IE) gene expression significantly increased in the number of ganglia infected with ΔCTRL2 by 31 days postinfection relative to the level with 17syn+ infection, indicating that deletion of the CTRL2 insulator disrupted the organization of chromatin domains during HSV-1 latency. Finally, chromatin immunoprecipitation with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-seq) analyses of TG from ΔCTRL2-infected mice confirmed that the distribution of the repressive H3K27me3 (histone H3 trimethylated at K27) mark on the ΔCTRL2 recombinant genomes was altered compared to that of the wild type, indicating that the CTRL2 site modulates the repression of IE genes during latency.IMPORTANCE It is becoming increasingly clear that chromatin insulators play a key role in the transcriptional control of DNA viruses. The gammaherpesviruses Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) utilize chromatin insulators to order protein recruitment and dictate the formation of three-dimensional DNA loops that spatially control transcription and latency. The contribution of chromatin insulators in alphaherpesvirus transcriptional control is less well understood. The work presented here begins to bridge that gap in knowledge by showing how one insulator site in HSV-1 modulates lytic gene transcription and heterochromatin deposition as the HSV-1 genome establishes latency.

Project description:During herpes simplex virus (HSV) latency, most viral genes are silenced, with the exception of one region of the genome encoding the latency-associated transcript (LAT). This long noncoding RNA was originally described as having a role in enhancing HSV-1 reactivation. However, subsequent evidence showing that the LAT blocked apoptosis and promoted efficient establishment of latency suggested that its effects on reactivation were secondary to establishment. Here, we utilized an adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector to deliver a LAT-targeting hammerhead ribozyme to HSV-1-infected neurons of rabbits after the establishment of HSV-1 latency. The rabbits were then induced to reactivate latent HSV-1. Using this model, we show that decreasing LAT levels in neurons following the establishment of latency reduced the ability of the virus to reactivate. This demonstrates that the HSV-1 LAT RNA has a role in reactivation that is independent of its function in establishment of latency. In addition, these results suggest the potential of AAV vectors expressing LAT-targeting ribozymes as a potential therapy for recurrent HSV disease such as herpes stromal keratitis, a leading cause of infectious blindness.IMPORTANCE Herpes simplex virus (HSV) establishes a lifelong infection and remains dormant (latent) in our nerve cells. Occasionally HSV reactivates to cause disease, with HSV-1 typically causing cold sores whereas HSV-2 is the most common cause of genital herpes. The details of how HSV reactivates are largely unknown. Most of HSV's genes are silent during latency, with the exception of RNAs made from the latency-associated transcript (LAT) region. While viruses that make less LAT do not reactivate efficiently, these viruses also do not establish latency as efficiently. Here we deliver a ribozyme that can degrade the LAT to the nerve cells of latently infected rabbits using a gene therapy vector. We show that this treatment blocks reactivation in the majority of the rabbits. This work shows that the LAT RNA is important for reactivation and suggests the potential of this treatment as a therapy for treating HSV infections.

Dataset Information

Influence of herpes simplex virus 1 latency-associated transcripts on the establishment and maintenance of latency in the ROSA26R reporter mouse model.

Publications

Influence of herpes simplex virus 1 latency-associated transcripts on the establishment and maintenance of latency in the ROSA26R reporter mouse model.

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