The goals of the project are to characterize the pathogenesis, natural history and therapy of herpes simplex virus and varicella-zoster virus infections. Our clinical emphasis has been on genital herpes in normal and immune-impaired patients. Analysis of 7 years of suppressive acyclovir therapy in patients with frequently recurring herpes have shown the drug to remain effective, to be well-tolerated, and to not induce drug resistance. We continue to study the ability of ultraviolet light and other physical and chemical agents to induce recurrent herpes simplex infections in humans. In a placebo-controlled trial, acyclovir was found to significantly block u-v induced reactivation of HSV-2 infection. A placebo-controlled trial of acyclovir for suppression of frequent, spontaneously recurring oral herpes is near completion. The major thrust or our laboratory effort in this project has been the analysis of HSV latency in human ganglia. We demonstrated and further characterized latent HSV-2 RNAs in sacral ganglia during the past year. Further efforts to define the structure, kinetics, and regulation of these latency-associated RNAs and their promoters are underway.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Intramural Research (Z01)
Project #
1Z01AI000058-16
Application #
3809541
Study Section
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
Budget End
Support Year
16
Fiscal Year
1989
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Niaid Extramural Activities
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
State
Country
United States
Zip Code
Dropulic, Lesia K; Lederman, Howard M (2016) Overview of Infections in the Immunocompromised Host. Microbiol Spectr 4:
Fernandez, Kristen Heins; Bream, Matthew; Ali, Mir A et al. (2013) Investigation of molluscum contagiosum virus, orf and other parapoxviruses in lymphomatoid papulosis. J Am Acad Dermatol 68:1046-7
Tang, Shuang; Bertke, Andrea S; Patel, Amita et al. (2008) An acutely and latently expressed herpes simplex virus 2 viral microRNA inhibits expression of ICP34.5, a viral neurovirulence factor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 105:10931-6
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Wang, Kening; Lau, Tsz Y; Morales, Melissa et al. (2005) Laser-capture microdissection: refining estimates of the quantity and distribution of latent herpes simplex virus 1 and varicella-zoster virus DNA in human trigeminal Ganglia at the single-cell level. J Virol 79:14079-87
Wang, K; Pesnicak, L; Guancial, E et al. (2001) The 2.2-kilobase latency-associated transcript of herpes simplex virus type 2 does not modulate viral replication, reactivation, or establishment of latency in transgenic mice. J Virol 75:8166-72
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Marques, A R; Straus, S E (2000) Herpes simplex type 2 infections--an update. Adv Intern Med 45:175-208
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