The arginine requirement for nucleocapsid maturation in Herpes simplex virus development

Abstract

Naked and enveloped Herpes simplex virus (HSV) particles from infected HEp-2 cells were separated by sucrose density-gradient centrifugation. Infected cells deprived of arginine during the latter half of the virus growth cycle were found capable of synthesizing about the same total number of naked particles as were infected cells maintained in normal medium throughout the cycle. The formation of full capsids in arginine-deprived cells was greatly depressed. The number of enveloped virus particles in the arginine-deprived culture was one-half that of the normal culture, but those full capsids which were enveloped in both cultures were equally infectious.Evidently late arginine deprivation affects the maturation of HSV nucleocapsids, rather than the synthesis of capsid protein, and the enveloping process appears to be affected by arginine deprivation as well.