title: An acyclovir-resistant strain of herpes simplex virus type 2 which is highly virulent for mice.
abstract: Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), strain YS-4 C-1, isolated by plaque cloning from a clinical isolate was found to be resistant to acyclovir (ACV; acycloguanosine) in vitro. It was sensitive to phosphonoacetic acid and 9-beta-D-arabinofuranosyladenine. Thymidine kinase (TK) activity of YS-4 C-1 was less than 1% of that of other strains from the same clinical source. However, thymidine plaque autoradiography showed that YS-4 C-1 was not completely deficient in TK activity. YS-4 C-1 showed high virulence for mice like other HSV-2 strains which were sensitive to ACV. YS-4 C-1 was able to establish latent infection in mice. Virus isolated from the brain of a mouse died after being inoculated with YS-4 C-1 was also resistant to ACV. ACV was not effective in mice inoculated with YS-4 C-1. This study shows that not all ACV-resistant strains are avirulent for mice.
authors.affiliation: Department of Virology, School of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sakuma
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kumano
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mori
mesh_terms: D000212:Acyclovir / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001345:Autoradiography; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005727:Ganglia, Spinal / Q000382:microbiology; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D013045:Species Specificity; D013937:Thymidine Kinase / Q000378:metabolism; D014740:Vidarabine / Q000494:pharmacology; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay; D014774:Virulence; D014776:Virus Cultivation
chemical_list: D004279:DNA, Viral; D013937:Thymidine Kinase; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D014740:Vidarabine; D000212:Acyclovir