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Journal of Virology, September 2001, p. 8697-8711, Vol. 75, No. 18
Department of Microbiology, Mount Sinai
School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029
Received 5 June 2001/Accepted 14 June 2001
Full-length VP22 is necessary for efficient spread of
herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) from cell to cell during
the course of productive infection. VP22 is a virion phosphoprotein,
and its nuclear localization initiates between 5 and 7 h
postinfection (hpi) during the course of synchronized infection. The
goal of this study was to determine which features of HSV-1 infection function to regulate the translocation of VP22 into the nucleus. We
report the following. (i) HSV-1(F)-induced microtubule rearrangement occurred in infected Vero cells by 13 hpi and was characterized by the loss of obvious microtubule organizing centers (MtOCs). Reformed
MtOCs were detected at 25 hpi. (ii) VP22 was observed in the cytoplasm
of cells prior to microtubule rearrangement and localized in the
nucleus following the process. (iii) Stabilization of microtubules by
the addition of taxol increased the accumulation of VP22 in the
cytoplasm either during infection or in cells expressing VP22 in the
absence of other viral proteins. (iv) While VP22 localized to the
nuclei of cells treated with the microtubule depolymerizing agent
nocodazole, either taxol or nocodazole treatment prevented optimal
HSV-1(F) replication in Vero cells. (v) VP22 migration to the nucleus
occurred in the presence of phosphonoacetic acid, indicating that
viral DNA and true late protein synthesis were not required for
its translocation. Based on these results, we conclude
that (iv) microtubule reorganization during HSV-1 infection facilitates
the nuclear localization of VP22.
0022-538X/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.75.18.8697-8711.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Microtubule Reorganization during Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Infection Facilitates the Nuclear Localization of VP22, a Major
Virion Tegument Protein

*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Microbiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Pl., New York, NY 10029-6574. Phone: (212) 241-7319. Fax: (212) 534-1684. E-mail: john.blaho{at}mssm.edu.
Present address: Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton
University, Princeton, NJ 08544.
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