title: Cultured vestibular ganglion neurons demonstrate latent HSV1 reactivation.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Vestibular neuritis is a common cause of both acute and chronic vestibular dysfunction. Multiple pathologies have been hypothesized to be the causative agent of vestibular neuritis; however, whether herpes simplex type I (HSV1) reactivation occurs within the vestibular ganglion has not been demonstrated previously by experimental evidence. We developed an in vitro system to study HSV1 infection of vestibular ganglion neurons (VGNs) using a cell culture model system.
  
  
  METHODS
  basic science study.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lytic infection of cultured rat VGNs was observed following low viral multiplicity of infection (MOI). Inclusion of acyclovir suppressed lytic replication and allowed latency to be established. Upon removal of acyclovir, latent infection was confirmed with reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and by RNA fluorescent in situ hybridization for the latency-associated transcript (LAT). A total of 29% cells in latently infected cultures were LAT positive. The lytic ICP27 transcript was not detected by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Reactivation of HSV1 occurred at a high frequency in latently infected cultures following treatment with trichostatin A (TSA), a histone deactylase inhibitor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  VGNs can be both lytically and latently infected with HSV1. Furthermore, latently infected VGNs can be induced to reactivate using TSA. This demonstrates that reactivation of latent HSV1 infection in the vestibular ganglion can occur in a cell culture model, and suggests that reactivation of HSV1 infection a plausible etiologic mechanism of vestibular neuritis.
authors: Department of Otolaryngology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA. pamela.roehm@nyumc.org
authors: Pamela C
authors: PC
authors: Roehm
authors: Vladimir
authors: V
authors: Camarena
authors: Shruti
authors: S
authors: Nayak
authors: James B
authors: JB
authors: Gardner
authors: Angus
authors: A
authors: Wilson
authors: Ian
authors: I
authors: Mohr
authors: Moses V
authors: MV
authors: Chao
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004261:DNA Replication; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000503:physiopathology; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000502:physiology*; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014725:Vestibular Nerve / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology / Q000821:virology*; D020338:Vestibular Neuronitis / Q000503:physiopathology; D017735:Virus Latency / Q000502:physiology*; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000502:physiology*