Unknown proteins of the Herpes virus discovered

In a major breakthrough which could help explain complex mechanisms used by the herpes virus to attack the human body, scientists have sequenced the virus' genome identifying several hundred previously unknown proteins. The virus can cause severe diseases in new-borns and in persons with weakened immune system and it's estimated that 80% of the world's population is infected by it.

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute (MPI) of Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich and the University of California in San Francisco have shown that the genome of this virus contains much more information than previously known according to the study published in journal Science.

20 years ago researchers had already sequenced the herpes virus genome. All proteins that the virus produces (virus proteome) was thought was thought to be predicted then. The scientists have now more accurately analysed the information content of the genome.

The scientists infected cells with herpes virus for the study. Proteins that were produced by the virus inside the cell over a period of 72 hours were observed.

The cell machinery first makes copies of the genetic material as intermediate products (RNA) to produce proteins. During their investigation of the intermediate products of the herpes virus, the scientists discovered many unexpectedly short unique RNA molecules. It was also discovered that the organisation of information required for protein production in the virus genome was far more complex than previously thought.

Later, the predicted viral proteins in the infected cell was confirmed directly using mass spectrometry revealed Annette Michalski, a scientist in the Department of Proteomics and Signal Transduction at the MPI of Biochemistry. The mass spectrometry method gives a general idea of the complete proteome of the virus-infected cell.

'We showed that it's not enough merely to know the virus genome to understand the biology of the herpes virus. What is important is to look at the products actually produced from the genome,' Michalski said.

Detailed insight into the complex mechanisms used by the virus was provided by the results of the study.