Herpes simplex virus type 2 UL24 gene is a virulence determinant in murine and guinea pig disease models.
A herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) UL24 beta-glucuronidase (UL24-betagluc) insertion mutant was derived from HSV-2 strain 186 via standard marker transfer techniques. Cell monolayers infected with UL24-betagluc yielded cytopathic effect with syncytium formation. UL24-betagluc replicated to wild-type viral titers in three different cell lines. UL24-betagluc was not virulent after intravaginal inoculation of BALB/c mice in that all inoculated animals survived doses up to 400 times the 50% lethal dose (LD50) of the parental virus. Furthermore, few UL24-betagluc-inoculated mice developed any vaginal lesions. Intravaginal inoculation of guinea pigs with UL24-betagluc at a dose equivalent to the LD50 of parental virus (approximately 5 x 10(3) PFU) was not lethal (10/10 animals survived). Although genital lesions developed in some UL24-betagluc-inoculated guinea pigs, both the overall number of lesions and the severity of disease were far less than that observed for animals infected with parental strain 186.
Blakeney
Susan
S
Wyeth Vaccines Research, Pearl River, New York 10965, USA.
Kowalski
Jacek
J
Tummolo
Donna
D
DeStefano
Joanne
J
Cooper
David
D
Guo
Min
M
Gangolli
Seema
S
Long
Deborah
D
Zamb
Timothy
T
Natuk
Robert J
RJ
Visalli
Robert J
RJ
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006168:Guinea Pigs; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000209:etiology*; D018258:Herpesvirus 2, Human / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D013937:Thymidine Kinase / Q000502:physiology; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D014774:Virulence; D014779:Virus Replication
C086267:UL24 protein, Human herpesvirus 1; D014764:Viral Proteins; D013937:Thymidine Kinase