Ultrastructural characterization of an early, nonstructural polypeptide of herpes simplex virus type 1

Abstract

An immunoperoxidase procedure was employed to study the expression of a large-molecular-weight, virus-induced polypeptide (VP175; molecular weight, 175,000) at the light and electron microscopic levels in Vero cells infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 or with tsB2, a DNA-negative, temperature-sensitive mutant of herpes simplex virus type 1. In cells infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 and in cells infected with tsB2 at the permissive temperature (34 degrees C), VP175 was found within the nucleus. The protein was detected as early as 2 h postinfection and, by 3 h postinfection, was generally distributed in a marginated pattern contiguous with, and extending from, the inner lamella of the nuclear membrane. At 6 h postinfection, protein accumulations were dispersed throughout the nucleus, and, by 9 h postinfection, these accumulations tended to be localized in a marginated pattern near the nuclear membrane. It was also noted that, at 9 h postinfection, under permissive conditions, VP175 was not found in association with nucleocapsids or enveloped particles. In contrast, in cells infected with tsB2 at the nonpermissive temperature (39 degrees C) and harvested at 6 or 9 h postinfection, accumulations of VP175 were identified not only within the nucleus, but also within the cytoplasm in the form of annular or globular aggregates. These aggregates consisted of a granular matrix and were not bound by membranes.