Restricted Transcription of Varicella-Zoster Virus in Latently Infected Human

University ofColorado School ofMedicine. Denver Normal human trigeminal and thoracic ganglia latently infected with varicella-zoster virus (VZV) were identified bypolymerase chain reaction (Pf.R). Total RNA wasextracted from these ganglia and treated with DNase until ganglionic RNA was free of VZV DNA as determined by PCR. Radiolabeled eDNA synthesized by priming with random oligonucleotides was hybridized to Southern blots containing recombinant clones that spanned>95 % of the VZV genome. The single region of the VZV genome detected was the 12.5-kbSall C fragment located in the unique long segment of the viral genome. Two additional regions of the VZV genome, EcoRI G and Sail B, were detected in RNA from adult dorsal root ganglia and infant nervous system tissue. Varicella-zoster virus (VZV), an a-herpesvirus, establishes latent infection in dorsal root ganglia following primary in-fection (varicella) in children. Infectious virus cannot be re-covered from latently infected human ganglia [1], although viral DNA representing most, ifnot all, of the VZV genome has been detected by Southern blot hybridization and poly