Open AccessHerpes simplex type 1 DNA in human brain tissue.
Author(s) -
Nigel W. Fraser,
William C. Lawrence,
Zofia Wróblewska,
Donald H. Gilden,
Hilary Koprowski
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.78.10.6461
Subject(s) - herpes simplex virus , dna , biology , genome , virology , restriction enzyme , microbiology and biotechnology , virus , brain tissue , hsl and hsv , gene , genetics , anatomy
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is known to reside latently in the trigeminal ganglia of man. Reactivation of this virus causes skin lesions and may occasionally infect other tissues, including the brain. To determine whether the brain tissue of humans free of clinical signs of HSV-1 infection contains any trace of HSV-1, we examined the DNA from brain tissue by endonuclease digestion, separation of the fragments by gel electrophoresis, and hybridization with labeled HSV-1 DNA probes. Hybrid bands were detected autoradiographically in experiments using cloned and virion-purified fragments of the HSV-1 genome. HSV-1 DNA sequences were found in 6 of 11 human brain DNA samples tested. In some cases, these bands corresponded to the bands expected for the complete viral genome, whereas others contained bands representing only a part of the genome. In some cases, the terminal fragments could be found, suggesting that the DNA was in a linear, nonintegrated form.