Degradation of cellular mRNAs induced by a virion-associated factor during herpes simplex virus infection of Vero cells.

We have used Northern blot hybridization to study the accumulation of specific cellular mRNAs in Vero cells infected with herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 or type 2. HSV-1 infection decreased the cytoplasmic levels of beta- and gamma-actin, beta-tubulin, and histone H3 and H4 mRNAs, though not all at the same rate. HSV-2 infection resulted in a more rapid decrease in actin and histone mRNA levels compared with HSV-1 infection. The turnover rate of each type of mRNA studied was accelerated in HSV-infected cells compared with the rate in uninfected cells. Cellular mRNA degradation was induced by HSV infection under conditions of (i) inhibition of de novo protein synthesis, (ii) inhibition of de novo RNA synthesis, (iii) infection with HSV-1(17) tsK, which fails to produce early and late viral gene products at the nonpermissive temperature, and (iv) infection with purified virions in the presence of actinomycin D. We have concluded that, in Vero cells, cellular mRNA degradation is induced by a factor associated with the infecting HSV virion and thus does not require de novo RNA or protein synthesis. Despite the overall inhibition of cellular mRNA accumulation, a novel 2.2-kilobase cytoplasmic actin transcript was produced in HSV-infected cells when viral gene expression was allowed. The level of accumulation of cytoplasmic host mRNAs was compared with the rate of cellular protein synthesis under different conditions of infection. This analysis suggests that both HSV-1 and HSV-2 require an additional function(s) to completely inhibit cellular protein synthesis.