ABSTRACT
The UL17 and UL25 proteins (pUL17 and pUL25, respectively) of herpes simplex virus 1 are located at the external surface of capsids and are essential for DNA packaging and DNA retention in the capsid, respectively. The current studies were undertaken to determine whether DNA packaging or capsid assembly affected the pUL17/pUL25 interaction. We found that pUL17 and pUL25 coimmunoprecipitated from cells infected with wild-type virus, whereas the major capsid protein VP5 (encoded by the UL19 gene) did not coimmunoprecipitate with these proteins under stringent conditions. In addition, pUL17 (i) coimmunoprecipitated with pUL25 in the absence of other viral proteins, (ii) coimmunoprecipitated with pUL25 from lysates of infected cells in the presence or absence of VP5, (iii) did not coimmunoprecipitate efficiently with pUL25 in the absence of the triplex protein VP23 (encoded by the UL18 gene), (iv) required pUL25 for proper solubilization and localization within the viral replication compartment, (v) was essential for the sole nuclear localization of pUL25, and (vi) required capsid proteins VP5 and VP23 for nuclear localization and normal levels of immunoreactivity in an indirect immunofluorescence assay. Proper localization of pUL25 in infected cell nuclei required pUL17, pUL32, and the major capsid proteins VP5 and VP23, but not the DNA packaging protein pUL15. The data suggest that VP23 or triplexes augment the pUL17/pUL25 interaction and that VP23 and VP5 induce conformational changes in pUL17 and pUL25, exposing epitopes that are otherwise partially masked in infected cells. These conformational changes can occur in the absence of DNA packaging. The data indicate that the pUL17/pUL25 complex requires multiple viral proteins and functions for proper localization and biochemical behavior in the infected cell.
Proteins Specified by Herpes Simplex Virus IX. Contiguity of Host and Viral Proteins in the Plasma Membrane of Infected Cells
