News Health & Medicine

How herpes re-rears its ugly head

Researchers identify key protein that reactivates virus under stress

By Laura Sanders

- More than 2 years ago

A single viral protein enables dormant herpes virus to wake up, suggests a study appearing online March 26 in PLoS Pathogens. The protein, called VP16, acts as the gatekeeper for the damaging, infective activity of the virus, new results in mice show.

HERPES COMES BACK Activity of the VP16 gene (light blue) and the presence of other viral proteins (light purple) in these mouse nerve cells are signs of the herpes virus waking from its latent form.