Regulation of Herpes Simplex Virus 2 Protein Kinase UL13 by Phosphorylation and Its Role in Viral Pathogenesis

UL13 proteins are serine/threonine protein kinases encoded by herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) and HSV-2. Although the downstream effects of the HSV protein kinases, mostly those of HSV-1 UL13, have been reported, there is a lack of information on how these viral protein kinases are regulated in HSV-infected cells. In this study, we used a large-scale phosphoproteomic analysis of HSV-2-infected cells to identify a physiological phosphorylation site in HSV-2 UL13 (i.e., Ser-18) and investigated the significance of phosphorylation of this site in HSV-2-infected cell cultures and mice. Our results were as follows. (i) An alanine substitution at UL13 Ser-18 (S18A) significantly reduced HSV-2 replication and cell-to-cell spread in U2OS cells to a level similar to those of the UL13-null and kinase-dead mutations. (ii) The UL13 S18A mutation significantly impaired phosphorylation of a cellular substrate of this viral protein kinase in HSV-2-infected U2OS cells. (iii) Following vaginal infection of mice, the UL13 S18A mutation significantly reduced mortality, HSV-2 replication in the vagina, and development of vaginal disease to levels similar to those of the UL13-null and the kinase-dead mutations. (iv) A phosphomimetic substitution at UL13 Ser-18 significantly restored the phenotype observed with the UL13 S18A mutation in U2OS cells and mice. Collectively, our results suggested that phosphorylation of UL13 Ser-18 regulated UL13 function in HSV-2-infected cells and that this regulation was critical for the functional activity of HSV-2 UL13 in vitro and in vivo and also for HSV-2 replication and pathogenesis.IMPORTANCE Based on studies on cellular protein kinases, it is obvious that the regulatory mechanisms of protein kinases are as crucial as their functional consequences. Herpesviruses each encode at least one protein kinase, but the mechanism by which these kinases are regulated in infected cells remains to be elucidated, with a few exceptions, although information on their functional effects has been accumulating. In this study, we have shown that phosphorylation of the HSV-2 UL13 protein kinase at Ser-18 regulated its function in infected cells, and this regulation was critical for HSV-2 replication and pathogenesis in vivo UL13 is conserved in all members of the family Herpesviridae, and this is the first report clarifying the regulatory mechanism of a conserved herpesvirus protein kinase that is involved in viral replication and pathogenesis in vivo Our study may provide insight into the regulatory mechanisms of the other conserved herpesvirus protein kinases.