A murine RNA polymerase I promoter inserted into the herpes simplex virus type 1 genome is functional during lytic, but not latent, infection
Lachmann, R. H. and Brown, C. and Efstathiou, S.,, 77, 2575-2582 (1996),
doi = https://doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-77-10-2575,
publicationName = Microbiology Society,
issn = 0022-1317,
abstract= The development of herpes simplex virus as a vector for neuronal gene delivery is dependent upon the identification and characterization of promoter elements capable of driving long-term expressio nduring latency. The majority of RNA polymerase II (pol II) promoters studied are active during acute infection but silenced during latency. In order to investigate the potential of a murine RNA polymerase I (pol I) promoter to drive reporter gene expressio nduring lytic and latent infection, we describe the construction and characterization of two recombinant viruses; SC16 LAT neo and SC16 US5 neo. These viruses contain a pol I-encephalomyocarditis virus internal ribosome entry site (EMCV IRES)-neomycin phosphotransferase gene (neo r ) cassette inserted into the non-essential major latency associated transcript (LAT) and US5 regions respectively. Pol I promoter activity could be detected in the rodent BHK cell line, but not the primate derived Vero cell line — consistent with the known species specificity of such promoters. This activity was specific to a virus containing an active pol I promoter. However, in situ hybridization analyses of latently infected cervical dorsal root ganglia failed to detect pol I mediated transcription of the reporter gene indicating that the murine pol I promoter is silenced following the establishment of latency. Insertion of the pol I-EMCV IRES-neo R cassette into the major LAT locus resulted in the production of a hybrid LAT transcript during latency which was translocated to the cytoplasm of latently infected neurones.,
language=,
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