TISSUE-SPECIFIC DISTRIBUTION OF THE HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPE-1 LATENCY-ASSOCIATED TRANSCRIPTS ON POLYRIBOSOMES DURING LATENT INFECTION

Transcription of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) during latency pr oduces two abundant latency-associated transcripts (LATs). We have rec ently shown, that during HSV-1 latency in mice trigeminal ganglia (TG) LATs are bound to polyribosomes (J Virol, 1997, 71, 2897-2904). In or der to study the possible role of this binding in the latency process, we no rv extend the polyribosomal analysis to brainstem tissues of la tently infected mice, that unlike TG do not support viral reactivation . We report here that the relative amounts of the LATs associated with polyribosomes in the brainstems of mice are significantly lower than those present in TG. We therefore show that binding of the 1.5 and 2.0 kilobases LATs to polyribosomes is tissue specific and hypothesize th at this association may have a role in the reactivation function of HS V-1.