Virus Details


VHFID3846

Pathogen Information

Virus Name Human herpesvirus 1
Virus Short Name HSV1
Order Herpesvirales
Virus Family Herpesviridae
Virus Subfamily Alphaherpesvirinae
Genus Simplexvirus
Species Herpes simplex virus 1
Host Human, mammals
Cell Tropism Primary site of infection: epithelial mucosal cells , latency: remains latent in sensory neurons (ganglions)
Associated Disease Skin vesicles or mucosal ulcers, rarely encephalitis and meningitis
Mode of Transmission Contact, saliva
VIPR DB link http://www.viprbrc.org/brc/vipr_allSpecies_search.do?method=SubmitForm&decorator=herpes
ICTV DB link https://talk.ictvonline.org/ictv-reports/ictv_9th_report/dsdna-viruses-2011/w/dsdna_viruses/91/herpesviridae
Virus Host DB link http://www.genome.jp/virushostdb/view/?virus_lineage=Herpesviridae

Publication Information

Paper Title Von Willebrand Factor Gene Variants Associate with Herpes simplex Encephalitis
Author's Name Nada Abdelmagid, Biborka Bereczky-Veress, Santosh Atanur, Alena Musilova, Vaclav Z dek, Laura Saba, Andreas Warnecke, Mohsen Khademi, Marie Studahl, Elisabeth Aurelius, Anders Hjalmarsson, Ana Garcia-Diaz, Cecile V. Denis, Tomas Bergstrom, Birgit Skoldenberg, Ingrid Kockum, Timothy Aitman, Norbert Hubner, Tomas Olsso, Michal Pravenec, Margarita Diez
Journal Name PLOS One
Pubmed ID 27224245
Abstract Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) is a rare complication of Herpes simplex virus type-1 infection. It results in severe parenchymal damage in the brain. Although viral latency in neurons is very common in the population, it remains unclear why certain individuals develop HSE. Here we explore potential host genetic variants predisposing to HSE. In order to investigate this we used a rat HSE model comparing the HSE susceptible SHR (Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats) with the asymptomatic infection of BN (Brown Norway). Notably, both strains have HSV-1 spread to the CNS at four days after infection. A genome wide linkage analysis of 29 infected HXB/BXH RILs (recombinant inbred lines-generated from the prior two strains), displayed variable susceptibility to HSE enabling the definition of a significant QTL (quantitative trait locus) named Hse6 towards the end of chromosome 4 (160.89-174Mb) containing the Vwf (von Willebrand factor) gene. This was the only gene in the QTL with both cis-regulation in the brain and included several non-synonymous SNPs (single nucleotide polymorphism). Intriguingly, in human chromosome 12 several SNPs within the intronic region between exon 43 and 44 of the VWF gene were associated with human HSE pathogenesis. In particular, rs917859 is nominally associated with an odds ratio of 1.5 (95% CI 1.11-2.02 p-value = 0.008) after genotyping in 115 HSE cases and 428 controls. Although there are possibly several genetic and environmental factors involved in development of HSE, our study identifies variants of the VWF gene as candidates for susceptibility in experimental and human HSE.
Used Model inbred strains: the normotensive Brown Norway (BN.Lx) and the Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR/Ola)
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0155832