title: The role of pseudorabies virus thymidine kinase expression in trigeminal ganglion infection.
abstract: The role of pseudorabies virus (PRV) thymidine kinase (TK) expression in the pathogenesis of PRV infection of mice was studied with TK-negative (TK-) mutants. Thymidine phosphorylation and arabinosylthymine inhibition of PRV replication and efficiency of plating were used to characterize TK+ and TK- PRV. In addition, a plaque autoradiography procedure was utilized to determine the TK phenotype of individual plaques. TK+ and TK- PRV replicated well in ocular tissues, while TK+ but not TK- did so in ganglion tissue. Mortality was absent after TK- PRV inoculation and widespread after inoculation of similar amounts of TK+ PRV. Latent infection in mice was not detected with either TK+ or TK- PRV. This study indicated the probable importance of PRV TK expression in acute trigeminal ganglion infection.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003315:Cornea / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D011558:Herpesvirus 1, Suid / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D010641:Phenotype; D011557:Pseudorabies / Q000382:microbiology; D013937:Thymidine Kinase / Q000235:genetics*; D014276:Trigeminal Nerve / Q000382:microbiology*; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay
chemical_list: D013937:Thymidine Kinase