Open AccessHuman Cytomegalovirus Latency-Associated Protein pORF94 Is Dispensable for Productive and Latent Infection
Author(s) -
Kirsten White,
Barry Slobedman,
Edward S. Mocarski
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.617
H-Index - 292
eISSN - 1070-6321
pISSN - 0022-538X
DOI - 10.1128/jvi.74.19.9333-9337.2000
Subject(s) - biology , human cytomegalovirus , virology , virus latency , progenitor cell , latency (audio) , myeloid , open reading frame , virus , gene , viral replication , latent virus , transcription (linguistics) , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , stem cell , immunology , peptide sequence , linguistics , philosophy , electrical engineering , engineering
Human cytomegalovirus latency in bone marrow-derived myeloid progenitors is characterized by the presence of latency-associated transcripts encoded in theie1/ie2 region of the viral genome. To assess the role of ORF94 (UL126a), a conserved open reading frame on these transcripts, a recombinant virus (RC2710) unable to express this gene was constructed. This virus replicated at wild-type levels and expressed productive as well as latency-associatedie1/ie2 region transcripts. During latency in granulocyte-macrophage progenitors, RC2710 DNA was detected at levels indistinguishable from wild-type virus, latent-phase transcription was present, and RC2710 reactivated when latently infected cells were cocultured with permissive fibroblasts. These data suggest pORF94 is not required for either productive or latent infection as assayed in cultured cells despite being the only known nuclear latency-associated protein.