JVI Accepts, published online ahead of print on 17 June 2009

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ASM journals Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hancock, M. H. Articles by Smiley, J. R. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hancock, M. H. Articles by Smiley, J. R.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

J. Virol. doi:10.1128/JVI.00142-09
Copyright (c) 2009, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Cell fusion-induced activation of interferon-stimulated genes is not required for restriction of a herpes simplex virus VP16/ICP0 mutant in heterokarya formed between permissive and restrictive cells

Meaghan H. Hancock, Karen L. Mossman, and James R. Smiley^*

Alberta Institute for Viral Immunology, Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2S2, Canada; Department of Pathology & Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 3Z5, Canada

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: jim.smiley{at}ualberta.ca.

Herpes simplex virus VP16 and ICP0 mutants replicate efficiently in U2OS osteosarcoma cells but are restricted in other cell types. We previously showed that the restrictive phenotype is dominant in a transient cell fusion assay, suggesting that U2OS cells lack an antiviral mechanism present in other cells. Recent data indicate that unscheduled membrane fusion events can activate expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) in fibroblasts, raising the possibility that our earlier results were due to a fusion-induced antiviral state. However, we show here that the permissive phenotype is also extinguished following fusion with Vero cells in the absence of ISG induction.