title: Herpes simplex virus 1 UL41 protein abrogates the antiviral activity of hZAP by degrading its mRNA.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The zinc finger antiviral protein (ZAP) is a host restriction factor that inhibits the replication of various viruses by degradation of certain viral mRNA. However, previous study demonstrated that ectopic expression of rat ZAP did not suppress the replication of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), an archetypal member of the alphaherpesvirus subfamily, and the molecular mechanism underneath is still illusive.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Human ZAP (hZAP) does not suppress the replication of herpes simplex virus 1, and HSV-1 UL41 protein was identified as an antagonist of hZAP by degrading its mRNA. Infection of wild-type (WT), but not UL41-null mutant (R2621) virus, diminished the accumulation of hZAP to abrogate its antiviral activity. Moreover, ectopic expression of hZAP inhibited the replication of R2621 but not WT HSV-1.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HSV-1 UL41 was shown for the first time to evade the antiviral function of hZAP via its RNase activity.
authors.affiliation: Institutes of Biology and Medical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China. such1986@aliyun.com.
authors.forename: Chenhe
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China. zhch2031@163.com.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institutes of Biology and Medical Sciences, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China. zheng.alan@hotmail.com.|Adjunct professor, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Deseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, T2N 4 N1, Canada. zheng.alan@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Chunfu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zheng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000276:immunology* / Q000502:physiology*; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D057131:Immune Evasion; D020871:RNA Stability; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000235:genetics; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; C081688:Ul41 protein, Human herpesvirus 1; D014764:Viral Proteins; C527496:ZC3HAV1 protein, human