The herpes simplex virus type 1 latency-associated transcript promoter is activated through Ras and Raf by nerve growth factor and sodium butyrate in PC12 cells.

Herpes simplex virus establishes latent infections in the nuclei of sensory neurons. These infections are characterized by the abundant expression of a series of 5' coterminal transcripts termed the latency-associated transcripts (LATs). Available evidence indicates that LAT expression is specifically regulated in latently infected neurons. Although previous studies have examined the regulation of LAT expression in neuronal and nonneuronal cells, the mechanism of regulation of LAT expression in neuronal cells in response to external factors has not been investigated. To address this question, we characterized the activity of LAT promoter fusion constructs in PC12 cells following treatment with nerve growth factor (NGF) and/or sodium butyrate (NaB), agents that affect expression of cell cycle-associated genes. Expression from the LAT promoter was induced 8- to 12-fold by either NGF or NaB alone and 40- to 60-fold when the two agents were added simultaneously. Fibroblast growth factor also induced expression from the LAT promoter but to a lesser extent than NGF. Treatment with factors such as epidermal growth factor, phorbol myristate acetate, cyclic AMP, or KCI had no significant effect on LAT promoter activity. Notably, promoter-reporter constructs containing immediate-early (ICP0 and ICP4), early (ICP8 and UL9), and late (UL10 and UL30) viral promoters were induced only two- to fourfold by NGF, suggesting that the LAT promoter may be unusual among herpes simplex virus genes in the magnitude of its response to this factor. To identify pathways leading to LAT activation in vitro, we characterized the response of the LAT promoter to NGF and/or NaB in PC12-derived cell lines containing mutations in specific signal transduction pathways. We found that activation of the LAT promoter requires Ras activation and that activation of the serine/threonine kinase, Raf, is sufficient to induce LAT expression. Together, these results indicate that the LAT promoter is regulated via the Ras/Raf signal transduction pathway in response to external factors such as NGF and NaB and that LAT expression may be regulated by NGF in latently infected neurons.