Evidence for translational regulation of herpes simplex virus type 1 gD expression.

We compared the rates of synthesis of herpes simplex virus type 1 glycoproteins C and D and quantitated the accumulation of translatable mRNA for each glycoprotein at various times after infection. The rate of synthesis of gD increased sharply early in the infection, peaked by 4 to 6 h after infection, and declined late in the infection. In contrast, the rate of synthesis of gC increased steadily until at least 15 h after infection. The levels of mRNA for both of these glycoproteins, as detected by hybridization and by translation in vitro, continued to increase until at least 15 or 16 h after infection. Synthesis of both gC and gD and their respective mRNAs was found to be sensitive to inhibition of viral DNA replication with phosphonoacetic acid. The finding that reduced amounts of gD were synthesized late in the replicative cycle, whereas gD mRNA continued to accumulate in the cytoplasm, argues that the synthesis of gD is regulated, in part, at the level of translation.