title: Herpes simplex virus type-1 latency inhibits dendritic growth in sympathetic neurons.
abstract: Herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-1) initially infects mucoepithelial tissues of the orofacial region, the eye and to a lesser extent the genitalia. Subsequently, the virus is retrogradely transported through the axons of the sensory and sympathetic neurons to their nuclei, where the virus establishes a life-long latent infection. During this latency period, the viral genome is transcriptionally silent except for a single region encoding the latency-associated transcript (LAT). LAT has been shown to affect apoptosis, but little else is known regarding its effects on neurons. To understand how HSV-1 latency might affect dendrites in sympathetic neurons, we transfected primary cultures of sympathetic neurons obtained from rat embryos, with LAT expressing plasmids. LAT inhibited initial dendritic growth and induced dendritic retraction in sympathetic neurons. Latent HSV-1 infection of cultured sympathetic neurons inhibited dendritic growth indicating that this is likely also a consequence of natural infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY 14214, USA.
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Hamza
authors.forename: Dennis M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Higgins
authors.forename: William T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Ruyechan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D055419:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 7; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003712:Dendrites / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D020803:Encephalitis, Herpes Simplex / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D005728:Ganglia, Sympathetic / Q000254:growth & development / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000821:virology*; D015967:Gene Expression Regulation, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000502:physiology*; D035683:MicroRNAs; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000235:genetics; D014162:Transfection; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D017735:Virus Latency / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: C525821:Bmp7 protein, rat; D055419:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 7; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D035683:MicroRNAs; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D014764:Viral Proteins; C485184:enhanced green fluorescent protein; C477253:latency associated transcript, herpes simplex virus-1; D049452:Green Fluorescent Proteins