Effect of time delay after necropsy on analysis of simian varicella-zoster virus expression in latently infected ganglia of rhesus macaques.

Studies of varicella-zoster virus gene expression during latency require the acquisition of human ganglia at autopsy. Concerns have been raised that the virus might reactivate immediately after death. Because features of varicella-zoster virus latency are similar in primate and human ganglia, we examined virus gene expression in tissues either processed immediately or kept at 4°C for 30 h before necropsy of two monkeys inoculated with simian varicella-zoster virus and euthanized 117 days later. Virus transcription and the detection of open reading frame (ORF) 63 protein in the cytoplasm of neurons were comparable. Thus, a 30-h delay after death did not affect varicella-zoster virus expression in latently infected ganglia.