![Mapping a Viral Infection Highway]()
Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), the virus responsible for oral herpes, infects about half the world’s population. HSV-1 infects neurons of cranial nerves—especially the trigeminal ganglion nerves responsible for facial sensation and motor function. The viruses travel up the axons of these nerves to multiply in their nerve bodies. Newly-made HSV-1 then travel back down the axon to be released into the synapse. HSV-1 is thought to hijack the cell’s microtubule network to travel back and forth in the axon, but how it does so is unclear. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases has awarded Duncan W. Wilson, Ph.D., a five-year, $3.5 million grant to study UL36p, an HSV-1 protein that appears to attach the virus to microtubules via the motor proteins kinesin and dynein. Using microscopic imaging and biochemical techniques, Dr. Wilson will explore how UL36p helps HSV-1 move through axons during infection. Dr. Wilson is professor of developmental and molecular biology. (1R01AI125244-01A1)
Posted on: Wednesday, June 07, 2017