Herpes simplex virus type 1 UL51 protein is involved in maturation and egress of virus particles

The UL51 gene of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) encodes a phosphoprotein whose homologs are conserved throughout the herpes virus family. Recently, we reported that UL51 protein colocalizes with Golgi marker proteins in transfected cells and that targeting of UL51 protein to the Golgi apparatus depends on palmitoylation of its N-terminal cysteine at position 9 (N. Nozawa, T. Daikoku, T. Koshizuka, Y. Yamauchi, T. Yoshikawa, and Y. Nishiyama, J. Virol. 77:3204-3216, 2003). However, its role in the HSV replication cycle was unknown. Here, we generated UL51-null mutants (FDL51) in HSV-1 to uncover the function of UL51 protein. We show that the mutant plaques were much smaller in size and that maximal titers were reduced nearly 100-fold compared to wild-type virus. Electron microscopy indicated that the formation of nucleocapsids was not affected by the deletion of UL51 but that viral egress from the perinuclear space was severely compromised. In FDL51-infected cells, a large number of enveloped nucleocapsids were observed in the perinuclear space, but enveloped mature virions in the cytoplasm, as well as extracellular mature virions, were rarely detected. These defects were fully rescued by reinsertion of the UL51 gene. These results indicate that UL51 protein is involved in the maturation and egress of HSV-1 virus particles downstream of the initial envelopment step.