Scientists reveal DNA packaging mechanism of HSV-1, the virus that causes cold sores

A new technique developed by researchers from the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA has allowed them to become the first scientists to clearly see the intricate machinery responsible for compressing DNA into the small interior shell, or capsid, of herpes simplex virus type 1, or HSV-1, the virus responsible for causing cold sores. The advance could help contribute to the continued development of improved antiviral therapies — medicines used to treat not just cold sores, but also cancers and birth defects caused by other viruses in the herpesvirus family — that frequently target the viral DNA packaging process. The team’s major accomplishment was its development and use of two techniques for image processing — symmetry relaxation and sequential localized classification — that enabled the researchers to produce highly refined 3D images of HSV-1 viral particles, or virions, seen by cryo-electron microscopy. These methods allowed the scientists to see the unique structures in...