Discovery shows how herpes simplex virus reactivates in neurons to trigger disease

When we get cold sores, the reason is likely related to stress. In particular, the neurons in which the herpes simplex virus (HSV) reside, are under stress. For the first time, researchers at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine discovered a cellular mechanism that allows the virus to reactivate. They also found how brain cells are duped into allowing bits of virus to escape the very repressive environment in neurons and cause disease. HSV is found in about 90 percent of the United States population and leads to cold sores, recurrent eye infections, genital lesions, and in rare cases encephalitis – inflammation of the brain which has a 30 percent mortality rate (70 to 80 percent if left untreated). Its closely related virus, VZV, also causes chicken pox and shingles. “The proteins we’ve shown to be important for viral reactivation are almost exclusively found in neurons, so they do represent...