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Growth of human sensory ganglia in culture has led to the reactivation of herpes simplex virus from over 50% of cases studied. Infected cell polypeptide and restriction enzyme analysis has led to the conclusion that each individual has one unique latent strain of HSV-1 that can be present in more than one ganglion in the body. Analysis of 91 isolates has shown that the long region of the genome is variable in terms of DNA restriction sites, DNA sequences, and in coding for the majority of variable polypeptides. The short region is stable with only polypeptides Vmw 21 and 22, restriction sites HindIII-(M-N) and BglII-(G-H) and the DNA sequence BamHI-1' having been found to vary. The insertion and deletion of small DNA sequences at specific locations allows individual reactivation events to be distinguished. Detection of information able to complement and produce ts+ virus on superinfection of otherwise negative ganglia with ts mutants, has led to the conclusion that ganglion cells may harbor herpes virus-related information that is only detectable by use of such genetic probes.

SUMMARYAnalysis of the infected cell polypeptides and the DNA restriction profiles of 3 I HSV-I isolates from the trigeminal, superior cervical and vagus ganglia from I7 individuals (52 U.S.A., 2 Japanese, 3 Norwegian) could be classified as 15 different virus strains. With the exception of the three Norwegian isolates which gave identical profiles, virus isolates from the ganglia of different individuals could all be distinguished from one another. In contrast virus isolates from the trigeminal, superior cervical and vagus ganglia of the same individual, or virus isolates from the left and right ganglia of the same individual or multiple isolates from different explants of a single ganglion were indistinguishable. In conclusion, a single virus strain infects each individual initially and virus descended from this event subsequently infects and becomes latent in different cells of the same ganglion as well as in different ganglia.

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