Transcription prescription for herpes

Marketed drugs used to treat herpes simplex virus and varicella zoster virus share a single mechanism: inhibiting viral DNA polymerase to prevent replication of the viral genome. Now, NIH researchers have found a new way to attack herpes infections-stopping the virus from hijacking the host's transcriptional machinery to produce viral mRNA. The technique involves blocking a host enzyme, lysine-specific demethylase-1, which the virus exploits to kick-start transcription of viral mRNA.

Because α-herpesviruses are DNA viruses, they lack their own RNA polymerase and therefore require the use of the host's. To prepare the host's transcriptional machinery for viral gene transcription, α-herpesviruses modify methylation levels of host histones. In particular, the virus needs to increase methylation of histone H3 Lys4 (H3K4) and decrease methylation of H3K9...