The herpes simplex virus VP16-induced complex: the makings of a regulatory switch

Trends Biochem Sci. 2003 Jun;28(6):294-304. doi: 10.1016/S0968-0004(03)00088-4.

Abstract

When herpes simplex virus (HSV) infects human cells, it is able to enter two modes of infection: lytic and latent. A key activator of lytic infection is a virion protein called VP16, which, upon infection of a permissive cell, forms a transcriptional regulatory complex with two cellular proteins - the POU-domain transcription factor Oct-1 and the cell-proliferation factor HCF-1 - to activate transcription of the first set of expressed viral genes. This regulatory complex, called the VP16-induced complex, reveals mechanisms of combinatorial control of transcription. The activities of Oct-1 and HCF-1 - two important regulators of cellular gene expression and proliferation - illuminate strategies by which HSV might coexist with its host.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Division
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / metabolism*
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Herpes Simplex Virus Protein Vmw65 / chemistry
  • Herpes Simplex Virus Protein Vmw65 / physiology*
  • Host Cell Factor C1
  • Octamer Transcription Factor-1
  • Proteins / metabolism*
  • Simplexvirus / metabolism*
  • Transcription Factors / metabolism*
  • Transcription, Genetic*

Substances

  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • Herpes Simplex Virus Protein Vmw65
  • Host Cell Factor C1
  • Octamer Transcription Factor-1
  • Proteins
  • Transcription Factors