Herpesvirus Transcriptional Control

A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Viruses".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 291

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
Interests: herpes simplex virus; herpesvirus gene expression; viral latency and reactivation; virus–host interactions

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For over four decades, researchers have studied the transcription of herpesvirus genes to understand their roles in lytic and latent infections and as a paradigm for eukaryotic transcription. The advent of new technologies, approaches and model systems, such as RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq), proteomics and organoid cultures, is providing greater insights into the regulation of herpesvirus transcription during lytic infection and reactivation, as well as the restrictions in viral transcription observed during the establishment and maintenance of latency.

This Special Issue will highlight current research examining herpesvirus–host interactions that modulate viral and/or host transcription, which influence the life cycles and pathogenesis of herpesvirus family members.

Prof. Dr. David Davido
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • herpes simplex virus
  • herpesvirus gene expression
  • viral latency and reactivation
  • virus–host interactions

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

13 pages, 2710 KiB  
Article
Transcriptomic and Proteomic Profiling of Rabbit Kidney Cells Infected with Equine Herpesvirus 8
by Yanfei Ji, Dandan Xu, Wenxuan Si, Yu Zhang, Muhammad Zahoor Khan, Xia Zhao and Wenqiang Liu
Viruses 2025, 17(5), 647; https://doi.org/10.3390/v17050647 (registering DOI) - 29 Apr 2025
Abstract
The present study investigated the host cell response to EHV-8 infection in rabbit kidney (RK-13) cells through transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. At 24 h post-infection, a total of 2118 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, with 1338 upregulated and 780 downregulated. At 48 [...] Read more.
The present study investigated the host cell response to EHV-8 infection in rabbit kidney (RK-13) cells through transcriptomic and proteomic approaches. At 24 h post-infection, a total of 2118 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, with 1338 upregulated and 780 downregulated. At 48 h, 7388 DEGs were detected, with 4342 upregulated and 3046 downregulated genes. Proteomic analysis revealed 932 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) at 24 h (364 upregulated and 568 downregulated) and 3866 DEPs at 48 h (2285 upregulated and 1581 downregulated). Of these, 237 upregulated and 336 downregulated proteins were common across both time points. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis indicated that the majority of DEGs and DEPs were enriched in key inflammation-related pathways, notably the TNF and NF-κB signaling pathways. Validation of the transcriptomic and proteomic data was performed using RT-PCR and parallel reaction monitoring (PRM), respectively, and confirmed consistent trends for TNFR1, NF-κB p65, and MAP3K8, as reported in the transcriptomic and proteomic screening. These findings suggest that EHV-8 infection may modulate host immune responses by activating the TNF signaling pathway. However, given that RK-13 cells may not fully replicate viral–host interactions in equine species, further in vivo studies in horses and donkeys are required to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the viral pathogenesis in these animals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Herpesvirus Transcriptional Control)
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