Role of the Nuclease Activities Encoded by Herpes Simplex Virus 1 UL12 in Viral Replication and Neurovirulence |
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| Authors: | Hikaru Fujii Michio Mugitani Naoto Koyanagi Zhuoming Liu Shumpei Tsuda Jun Arii Akihisa Kato Yasushi Kawaguchi |
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| Institution: | aDivision of Molecular Virology, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan;bDivision of Viral Infection, Department of Infectious Disease Control, International Research Center for Infectious Diseases, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan |
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| Abstract: | Enzyme-dead mutations in the herpes simplex virus 1 UL12 gene that abolished its endo- and exonuclease activities only slightly reduced viral replication in cell cultures. However, the UL12 null mutation significantly reduced viral replication, suggesting that a UL12 function(s) unrelated to its nuclease activities played a major role in viral replication. In contrast, the enzyme-dead mutations significantly reduced viral neurovirulence in mice, suggesting that UL12 nuclease activities were critical for viral pathogenesis in vivo. |
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