Construction and properties of a mutant of herpes simplex virus type 1 with glycoprotein H coding sequences deleted.
A mutant of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) in which glycoprotein H (gH) coding sequences were deleted and replaced by the Escherichia coli lacZ gene under the control of the human cytomegalovirus IE-1 gene promoter was constructed. The mutant was propagated in Vero cells which contained multiple copies of the HSV-1 gH gene under the control of the HSV-1 gD promoter and which therefore provide gH in trans following HSV-1 infection. Phenotypically gH-negative virions were obtained by a single growth cycle in Vero cells. These virions were noninfectious, as judged by plaque assay and by expression of beta-galactosidase following high-multiplicity infection, but partial recovery of infectivity was achieved by using the fusogenic agent polyethylene glycol. Adsorption of gH-negative virions to cells blocked the adsorption of superinfecting wild-type virus, a result in contrast to that obtained with gD-negative virions (D. C. Johnson and M. W. Ligas, J. Virol. 62:4605-4612, 1988). The simplest conclusion is that gH is required for membrane fusion but not for receptor binding, a conclusion consistent with the conservation of gH in all herpesviruses.
Forrester
A
A
Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Farrell
H
H
Wilkinson
G
G
Kaye
J
J
Davis-Poynter
N
N
Minson
T
T
D000818:Animals; D002872:Chromosome Deletion; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D005091:Exons; D016296:Mutagenesis; D009154:Mutation; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000235:genetics*; D014162:Transfection; D014709:Vero Cells; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014771:Virion / Q000235:genetics
D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C044200:glycoprotein H, herpes simplex virus type 1