The quantity of latent viral DNA correlates with the relative rates at which herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 cause recurrent genital herpes outbreaks.
Herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2) have evolved specific anatomic tropisms and site-dependent rates of reactivation. To determine whether reactivation rates depend on distinct abilities of HSV-1 and -2 to establish latency and to express latency-associated transcripts (LATs), virulent strains of each virus were studied in the guinea pig genital model. Following infection with equivalent titers of virus, the quantities of latent HSV-2 genomes and LATs were higher in lumbosacral ganglia, and HSV-2 infections recurred more frequently and lasted longer than HSV-1 infections. In contrast, if the inoculum of HSV-1 was 10 times that of HSV-2, the quantity of HSV-1 DNA and LATs increased correspondingly and HSV-1 infections were as likely to recur as those with HSV-2. The quantity of latent virus DNA correlates with and may be a major determinant of the site-specific patterns and rates of reactivation of HSV-1 and -2.
Lekstrom-Himes
J A
JA
Medical Virology Section, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1888, USA.
Pesnicak
L
L
Straus
S E
SE
D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006558:Herpes Genitalis / Q000821:virology*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D010641:Phenotype; D012008:Recurrence; D014709:Vero Cells; D014775:Virus Activation; D017735:Virus Latency
D004279:DNA, Viral