Abstract
The latency-related (LR) RNA of bovine herpes virus 1 (BHV-1) is abundantly expressed in sensory neurons of latently infected cattle. Wild-type expression of LR gene products is required for the latency-reactivation cycle. LR gene products inhibit apoptosis, bICP0 expression, and mammalian cell growth. The cell growth inhibitory function of the LR gene maps to a 463-bp XbaI-PstI fragment. Introduction of stop codons into the XbaI-PstI fragment had no effect on inhibiting growth. Expression of a LR strand-specific transcript correlates with growth inhibition in bovine fibroblasts and mouse neuroblastoma cells.
This work was supported by two USDA grants (2002-35204 and 2003-02213) and a Public Health Service grant 1P20RR15635. Vicki Geiser received support from the National Institutes of Health, Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award 1T32 AI060547 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.