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Updated: Jul 14, 2026

Temporal Analysis of the Nuclear-to-cytoplasmic Translocation of a Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Protein by Immunofluorescent Confocal Microscopy
Published on: November 4, 2018
Herpes simplex virus type 1 cytoplasmic envelopment requires functional Vps4.
Colin M Crump1, Catherine Yates, Tony Minson
1Division of Virology, Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QP, United Kingdom. cmc56@mole.bio.cam.ac.uk
Herpesvirus assembly uses the cell's endosome sorting machinery. Blocking Vps4, essential for endosome sorting, inhibits herpes simplex virus type 1 production, revealing a novel viral replication mechanism.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Herpesvirus assembly involves nucleocapsid budding into cytoplasmic compartments.
- This process resembles luminal vesicle formation in multivesicular endosomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of Vps4, an enzyme crucial for multivesicular endosome sorting, in herpesvirus assembly and egress.
- To determine if herpesviruses utilize the host cell's endosomal sorting machinery for infectious virus production.
Main Methods:
- Utilized dominant-negative Vps4 expression to inhibit multivesicular endosome sorting.
- Observed the effect of Vps4 inhibition on the cytoplasmic envelopment of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1).
Main Results:
- Vps4 function was found to be essential for the cytoplasmic envelopment stage of HSV-1.
- Inhibition of Vps4 significantly impaired the production of mature infectious herpesviruses.
Conclusions:
- Herpes simplex virus type 1 engages the host cell's multivesicular endosome sorting machinery for efficient viral production.
- This study identifies a novel mechanism where a large enveloped DNA virus hijacks cellular endosomal pathways for replication.
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