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Journal of Virology, December 1999, p. 9796-9802, Vol. 73, No. 12
Department of Virology, University of
Göteborg, S-413 46 Göteborg, Sweden
Received 20 May 1999/Accepted 20 August 1999
Herpes simplex virus (HSV) codes for several envelope
glycoproteins, including glycoprotein G-2 (gG-2) of HSV type 2 (HSV-2), which are dispensable for replication in cell culture. However, clinical isolates which are deficient in such proteins occur rarely. We
describe here five clinical HSV-2 isolates which were found to be
unreactive to a panel of anti-gG-2 monoclonal antibodies and therefore
considered phenotypically gG-2 negative. These isolates were further
examined for expression of the secreted amino-terminal and
cell-associated carboxy-terminal portions of gG-2 by immunoblotting and
radioimmunoprecipitation. The gG-2 gene was completely inactivated in
four isolates, with no expression of the two protein products. For one
isolate a normally produced secreted portion and a truncated carboxy-terminal portion of gG-2 were detected in virus-infected cell
medium. Sequencing of the complete gG-2 gene identified a single
insertion or deletion of guanine or cytosine nucleotides in all five
strains, resulting in a premature termination codon. The frameshift
mutations were localized within runs of five or more guanine or
cytosine nucleotides and were dispersed throughout the gene. For the
isolate for which a partially inactivated gG-2 gene was detected, the
frameshift mutation was localized upstream of but adjacent to the
nucleotides coding for the transmembranous region. Thus, this study
demonstrates the existence of clinical HSV-2 isolates which do not
express an envelope glycoprotein and identifies the underlying
molecular mechanism to be a single frameshift mutation.
0022-538X/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Glycoprotein G-Negative
Clinical Isolates Are Generated by Single Frameshift
Mutations
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Virology, University of Göteborg, Guldhedsgatan 10 B, S-413 46 Göteborg, Sweden. Phone: 46-31-3424657. Fax: 46-31-3424960. E-mail: jan-ake.liljeqvist{at}microbio.gu.se.
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