A VP26-mNeonGreen Capsid Fusion HSV-2 Mutant Reactivates from Viral Latency in the Guinea Pig Genital Model with Normal Kinetics

Julianna R Pieknik; Andrea S Bertke; Shuang Tang; Philip R Krause

doi:10.3390/v10050246

A VP26-mNeonGreen Capsid Fusion HSV-2 Mutant Reactivates from Viral Latency in the Guinea Pig Genital Model with Normal Kinetics

Viruses. 2018 May 8;10(5):246. doi: 10.3390/v10050246.

Authors

Julianna R Pieknik^{1

2}, Andrea S Bertke³, Shuang Tang⁴, Philip R Krause⁵

Affiliations

¹ Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD 20814, USA. julianna.pieknik@fda.hhs.gov.
² Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA. julianna.pieknik@fda.hhs.gov.
³ Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA. asbertke@vt.edu.
⁴ Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA. Shuang.Tang@fda.hhs.gov.
⁵ Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD 20993, USA. Philip.Krause@fda.hhs.gov.

Abstract

Fluorescent herpes simplex viruses (HSV) are invaluable tools for localizing virus in cells, permitting visualization of capsid trafficking and enhancing neuroanatomical research. Fluorescent viruses can also be used to study virus kinetics and reactivation in vivo. Such studies would be facilitated by fluorescent herpes simplex virus recombinants that exhibit wild-type kinetics of replication and reactivation and that are genetically stable. We engineered an HSV-2 strain expressing the fluorescent mNeonGreen protein as a fusion with the VP26 capsid protein. This virus has normal replication and in vivo recurrence phenotypes, providing an essential improved tool for further study of HSV-2 infection.

Keywords: HSV-2; fluorescent HSV-2; guinea pig; mNeonGreen; reactivation; vaginal infection model.

MeSH terms

Animals
Capsid / chemistry
Capsid Proteins / genetics*
Chlorocebus aethiops
Disease Models, Animal
Female
Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics*
Guinea Pigs
Herpes Genitalis / virology*
Herpesvirus 2, Human / genetics*
Herpesvirus 2, Human / physiology
Phenotype
Protein Transport
Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
Vagina / virology
Vero Cells
Virus Latency*
Virus Replication

Substances

Capsid Proteins
Recombinant Fusion Proteins
Green Fluorescent Proteins

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

Grants and funding