The Virion Host Shutoff Protein of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 Has RNA Degradation Activity in Primary Neurons

Abstract

The virion host shutoff protein (Vhs) of herpes simplex virus type 1 induces destabilization of mRNA following infection. Our study of primary neurons from CD-1 mice demonstrates that vhs is functional in neurons but that more Vhs is required to mediate RNA degradation in neurons than in other susceptible cells.