A cellular factor binding to the TAATGARAT DNA sequence prevents the expression of the HSV immediate-early genes following infection of nonpermissive cell lines derived from dorsal root ganglion neurons.

Cell lines derived from dorsal root ganglion neurons are nonpermissive for HSV infection and do not transcribe the viral immediate-early genes following infection. The lack of immediate-early gene transcription in these cells is caused by the presence of a neuronal cell specific inhibitory factor which binds to the TAATGARAT elements in the promoters of these genes and prevents their transcription. The significance of these results for an understanding of the processes regulating the interaction of HSV with neuronal cell types and the establishment of latent infections in vivo is discussed.