Cell lines derived from dorsal root ganglion neurons are nonpermissive for HSV and express only the latency-associated transcript following infection.

The effect of herpes simplex virus type 1 infection in a series of immortalized dorsal root ganglion cell lines has been investigated. Following infection of one of these lines, the viral immediate-early genes are not transcribed and the lytic cycle is aborted at an early stage. In contrast these cells do support transcription of the gene encoding the latency-associated transcripts which are the only viral RNAs present in latently infected ganglia in vivo. These cell lines are therefore a suitable model system for studies of the processes regulating the interaction of HSV with neuronal cell types and the establishment of latent infections in vivo.