The UL112/113 gene products of human cytomegalovirus which colocalize with viral DNA in infected cell nuclei are related to efficient viral DNA replication.

The UL112/113 gene products of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) were shown by transient complementation oriLyt-dependent DNA replication assay to be early viral proteins required for efficient viral DNA synthesis. By immunofluorescence analysis followed by fluorescence in situ hybridization, we showed that UL112/113 gene products of HCMV are colocalized with viral DNA prior to and during viral DNA replication in infected cell nuclei. We have used an anti-sense RNA approach for functional analysis of the UL112/113 gene in HCMV. The astrocytoma cell line U373-MG was used for permanent expression of the anti-sense UL112/113 gene. Expression of the anti-sense RNA in this cell line significantly blocked expression of UL112/113 gene products and viral DNA replication, indicating that the UL112/113 gene products are related to efficient viral DNA replication.