Evidence that herpes simplex virus DNA derived from quiescently infected cells in vitro, and latently infected cells in vivo, is physically damaged.
Using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and alkaline gel electrophoresis, the authors show that, compared with DNA derived from virions used to establish infection, herpes simplex virus DNA derived from quiescently infected rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells in culture accumulates alkaline-labile lesions. That is, compared with equivalent amounts of virion DNA, viral DNA from nerve growth factor-differentiated long-term infected cells in culture is consistently 3 to 10 times more refractory to amplification by PCR. Despite using equal mole amounts of DNA isolated from quiescently infected cells (determined by quantitative Southern blots), DNA from quiescently infected cells could not be detected by PCR under conditions in which the virion-derived DNA was easily detected. Refractoriness to PCR was confirmed by analysis with a ligation-mediated PCR technique. The refractoriness was not the result of genomic circularization. The refractoriness was, however, related to the time that the quiescently infected cells had been maintained in culture. The refractoriness to PCR was taken as an indication that the viral DNA was damaged. This hypothesis was confirmed by showing that viral DNA from quiescently infected PC12 cells accumulated alkaline-labile DNA lesions, as determined by alkaline gel electrophoresis. The phenomenon was not limited to tissue culture, because viral DNA derived from the ganglia of latently infected mice is also 3 to 10 times more refractory to amplification than are equivalent amounts of virion-derived genomes. Taken together, these results represent the first evidence that herpes simplex virus DNA is physically damaged as a function of long-term infection. Implications for viral reactivation and pathogenesis are discussed.
Millhouse
Scott
S
Drexel Institute for Biotechnology and Virology Research and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of Medicine, Drexel University, Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901-2697, USA.
Su
Ying-Hsiu
YH
Zhang
Xianchao
X
Wang
Xiaohe
X
Song
Benjamin P
BP
Zhu
Li
L
Oppenheim
Emily
E
Fraser
Nigel W
NW
Block
Timothy M
TM
D000818:Animals; D004249:DNA Damage; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000821:virology*; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009474:Neurons / Q000821:virology*; D016716:PC12 Cells; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D051381:Rats; D013997:Time Factors; D017735:Virus Latency / Q000235:genetics*
D004279:DNA, Viral