An SR-protein Induced by HSVI Binding to Cells Functioning as a Splicing Inhibitor of Viral pre-mRNA

The interaction between a virus and its specific receptor on the membrane of the host cell mimics the physiological combination of signal ligand and its receptor, and initiates the specific signal transduction from this activated receptor to induce a relative gene response. During the investigation of the interaction between Herpes simplex virus I (HSVI) and human fibroblast via the virus binding to its receptor complex on the cellular membrane, a new gene of cellular response against the specific stimulation of HSVI binding to fibroblasts was cloned from a cDNA library established from mRNA of an early gene response. This gene encoded a protein of 14.9 kDa with the structural characteristics of Arg-rich and RS repeats. The analysis of the role of this protein in the infection by HSVI indicated that this protein, expressed only in G1/S phase and phosphorylated, functioned as a splicing inhibitor of HSVI pre-mRNA. The details of the mechanism of this inhibition of HSVI pre-mRNA splicing is still unclear.