Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2026

Differentiation of the SH-SY5Y Human Neuroblastoma Cell Line
Published on: February 17, 2016
Herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster virus: why do these human alphaherpesviruses behave so differently from one
Isamu Mori1, Yukihiro Nishiyama
1Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Aichi Medical University School of Medicine, Nagakute, Aichi 480-1195, Japan. isamor@aichi-med-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Members of the Herpesviridae family of viruses are classified into the alpha, beta and gamma subfamilies. The alpha subfamily is estimated to have diverged from the beta and gamma subfamilies 200-220 million years ago. The ancestors of the herpes simplex virus (HSV) and the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), two ubiquitous and clinically important human pathogens, appeared 70-80 million years ago. As these viruses coevolved with their specific primate hosts, genetic rearrangements led to the development of the contemporary alphaherpesviruses and their distinct complement of genes. Here the distinct features of HSV and VZV are discussed in terms of their transmissibility, clinical picture, tissue tropism, establishment of latency/reactivation and immune evasion, which can, at least in part, be explained by differences in their genomes.
Related Concept Videos
Chickenpox
Herpes
Genital Herpes
Viral Recombination
Size and Structure of Viral Genomes
Viruses with RNA Genomes

