Serine/Arginine-rich Splicing Factor 2 Modulates Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Replication via Regulating Viral Gene Transcriptional Activity and Pre-mRNA Splicing

• DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m116.753046
• Publication Date: 2016-10-27T02:19:13Z
• Authors: Ziqiang Wang; Qing Liu; Jinhua Lu; Ping Fan; Weidong Xie; Wei Qiu; Fan Wang; Guangnan Hu; Yaou Zhang
• Keywords: Gene Expression Regulation, Viral; 0301 basic medicine; Serine-Arginine Splicing Factors; Transcription, Genetic; RNA Splicing; Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; Herpesvirus 1, Human; Virus Replication; Immediate-Early Proteins; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Chlorocebus aethiops; RNA Precursors; Animals; Humans; RNA, Viral; Vero Cells; HeLa Cells

Once it enters the host cell, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) recruits a series of host cell factors to facilitate its life cycle. Here, we demonstrate that serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 2 (SRSF2), which is an important component of the splicing speckle, mediates HSV-1 replication by regulating viral gene expression at the transcriptional and posttranscriptional levels. Our results indicate that SRSF2 functions as a transcriptional activator by directly binding to infected cell polypeptide 0 (ICP0), infected cell polypeptide 27 (ICP27), and thymidine kinase promoters. Moreover, SRSF2 participates in ICP0 pre-mRNA splicing by recognizing binding sites in ICP0 exon 3. These findings provide insight into the functions of SRSF2 in HSV-1 replication and gene expression.