title: The pseudorabies virus protein, pUL56, enhances virus dissemination and virulence but is dispensable for axonal transport.
abstract: Neurotropic herpesviruses exit the peripheral nervous system and return to exposed body surfaces following reactivation from latency. The pUS9 protein is a critical viral effector of the anterograde axonal transport that underlies this process. We recently reported that while pUS9 increases the frequency of sorting of newly assembled pseudorabies virus particles to axons from the neural soma during egress, subsequent axonal transport of individual virus particles occurs with wild-type kinetics in the absence of the protein. Here, we examine the role of a related pseudorabies virus protein, pUL56, during neuronal infection. The findings indicate that pUL56 is a virulence factor that supports virus dissemination in vivo, yet along with pUS9, is dispensable for axonal transport.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology-Immunology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
authors.forename: Gina R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
authors.forename: Patricia J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Sollars
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE, USA.
authors.forename: Gary E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Pickard
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology-Immunology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA. Electronic address: g-smith3@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Gregory A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001370:Axonal Transport; D001369:Axons / Q000821:virology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002642:Chick Embryo; D011558:Herpesvirus 1, Suid / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D013552:Swine; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014764:Viral Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors
keywords: Herpesvirus; Nervous system; PRV; UL56; US9; Virulence