Divergence of reiterated sequences in a series of genital isolates of herpes simplex virus type 1 from individual patients

J Gen Virol. 2003 Apr;84(Pt 4):917-923. doi: 10.1099/vir.0.18809-0.

Abstract

Both serotypes of herpes simplex virus (HSV), HSV-1 and HSV-2, are aetiological agents of genital herpes, although genital herpes caused by HSV-1 recurs less frequently. The HSV-1 genome contains a number of short, tandemly repeated sequences, and some reiterated sequences can serve as sensitive markers for the differentiation of HSV-1 strains. In the present study, variation in reiterations (assumed to be due to different copy numbers of tandemly repeated sequences) was examined in HSV-1 isolates from genital lesions from the same individual. Six sets (three primary-recurrence sets and three multiple-recurrence sets) of HSV-1 isolates were analysed: the primary-recurrence set consisted of two isolates (one isolated at a primary episode and the other at a recurrent episode) from the same individual; the multiple-recurrence set consisted of plural isolates from different episodes of recurrence in the same individual. Variations in length of the major DNA fragment, containing reiteration I (within the a sequence) and/or reiteration IV (within introns of genes US1 and US12), were detected between isolates of each multiple-recurrence set, but not of the primary-recurrence set. Thus, HSV-1 isolates of multiple-recurrence sets are assumed to have diverged more widely within each set than those of primary-recurrence sets, probably because of more rounds of virus DNA replication. This divergence of reiterations seems to indicate a forward step in the division of HSV-1 from a common ancestor into different lineages.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cohort Studies
  • DNA, Viral / chemistry
  • Female
  • Genetic Variation
  • Herpes Genitalis / pathology
  • Herpes Genitalis / virology*
  • Herpesvirus 1, Human / genetics*
  • Herpesvirus 1, Human / isolation & purification
  • Humans
  • Immediate-Early Proteins / genetics
  • Introns
  • Multigene Family
  • Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
  • Recurrence
  • Viral Proteins*
  • Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins

Substances

  • DNA, Viral
  • ICP22 protein, human herpesvirus 1
  • ICP47 protein, Herpes simplex virus
  • Immediate-Early Proteins
  • Viral Proteins
  • Viral Regulatory and Accessory Proteins
  • EUS1 protein, Equine herpesvirus 1