Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Temporal Analysis of the Nuclear-to-cytoplasmic Translocation of a Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Protein by Immunofluorescent Confocal Microscopy
06:40

Temporal Analysis of the Nuclear-to-cytoplasmic Translocation of a Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Protein by Immunofluorescent Confocal Microscopy

Published on: November 4, 2018

White spot syndrome virus protein ICP11: A histone-binding DNA mimic that disrupts nucleosome assembly

Hao-Ching Wang1, Han-Ching Wang, Tzu-Ping Ko

  • 1Institute of Biochemical Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei 106, Taiwan.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|December 20, 2008
PubMed

Insights

White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) protein ICP11 mimics DNA, binding to histones and disrupting DNA repair. This unique function may be key to WSSV infection in crustaceans.

Area of Science:

  • Virology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) causes significant crustacean diseases globally.
  • The WSSV protein ICP11 is highly expressed, indicating its crucial role in infection.
  • The specific function of ICP11 has remained largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To elucidate the function of the WSSV-encoded ICP11 protein.
  • To investigate ICP11's potential role as a DNA mimic.
  • To understand ICP11's interaction with host cellular components during WSSV infection.

Main Methods:

  • X-ray crystallography to determine ICP11 structure.
  • In vitro assays to assess ICP11's interaction with DNA and histone proteins.
  • Immunofluorescence microscopy to examine ICP11 localization within infected shrimp hemocytes.

Main Results:

  • ICP11 forms a polymer of dimers with a structure resembling DNA's phosphate backbone.
  • ICP11 inhibits the binding of histones (H2A, H2B, H3, H2A.x) to DNA.
  • ICP11 colocalizes with histone H3 and activated H2A.x in WSSV-infected shrimp hemocytes.

Conclusions:

  • ICP11 functions as a DNA mimic, interfering with nucleosome assembly.
  • ICP11 may impede DNA double-strand break repair by preventing H2A.x function.
  • ICP11 exhibits a unique DNA mimicry functionality among known viral proteins.

More Related Videos

Purification of Viral DNA for the Identification of Associated Viral and Cellular Proteins08:26

Purification of Viral DNA for the Identification of Associated Viral and Cellular Proteins

Published on: August 31, 2017

Identification of Modified Histones as Binding Substrates of Human Spindlin Family Member 4 (SPIN4) by Peptide Arrays and Native Nucleosome Pulldown09:34

Identification of Modified Histones as Binding Substrates of Human Spindlin Family Member 4 (SPIN4) by Peptide Arrays and Native Nucleosome Pulldown

Published on: March 27, 2026

Related Concept Videos

Subviral Agents01:29

Subviral Agents

Subviral agents are infectious entities that resemble viruses but lack one or more viral components, such as a capsid or essential replication machinery. These agents include viroids, prions, and satellites, each possessing distinct structural and functional characteristics that influence their mode of infection and replication.Viroids are the simplest subviral agents, consisting of circular, single-stranded RNA molecules without a protein coat. They exclusively infect plants, relying entirely...
Histone Variants at the Centromere02:30

Histone Variants at the Centromere

Histone variants are the histone proteins with structural and sequence variations. These variants may be regarded as “mutant” forms that replace their canonical histone counterparts in the nucleosomes. Specific post-translational modifications on the histone variants enable further chromatin complexity and regulate tissue-specific gene expression. The most common histone variants are from histone H2A, H2B, and linker histone H1 families. However, several variants of histone H3 variants are also...
Inhibitors of Viral Protein Synthesis01:30

Inhibitors of Viral Protein Synthesis

Protein synthesis is indispensable for viral replication, as viruses lack the cellular machinery required for this process and must hijack the host's translational apparatus. In response, host cells deploy a critical innate immune defense involving interferons, specialized cytokines that play a central role in inhibiting viral propagation.Upon viral detection, infected cells release interferons that bind to receptors on adjacent uninfected cells, activating the JAK-STAT signaling pathway and...
Inhibitors of Virion Maturation and Assembly01:19

Inhibitors of Virion Maturation and Assembly

As part of their replication cycle, certain viruses synthesize long precursor proteins called polyproteins within infected host cells. In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), two major polyproteins are produced: Gag and Gag-Pol. The Gag polyprotein supplies the structural components of the virus, while Gag-Pol includes essential viral enzymes such as reverse transcriptase, integrase, and protease. After synthesis, these polyproteins move to the host cell membrane, where they assemble into an...
Inhibitors Of Virion Release01:25

Inhibitors Of Virion Release

Viral replication and dissemination rely on efficient mechanisms for host cell entry, genome replication, assembly, and release. Influenza viruses, such as types A and B, are negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses with a segmented genome, that depend on two critical surface glycoproteins to carry out these processes: hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). HA initiates infection by binding to sialic acid residues on the surface of host epithelial cells, facilitating receptor-mediated...
Antiviral Nucleoside Inhibitors01:22

Antiviral Nucleoside Inhibitors

Antiviral Nucleoside InhibitorsAntiviral nucleoside inhibitors are structural analogs of natural nucleosides that interfere with viral DNA or RNA synthesis. These compounds selectively target viral polymerases due to their resemblance to host nucleosides, thereby disrupting viral genome replication.Mechanism of Acyclovir ActionAcyclovir is a guanosine analog with a three-carbon acyclic side chain. It selectively targets herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2),...