Differences in the likelihood of acyclovir resistance-associated mutations in the thymidine kinase genes of herpes simplex virus 1 and varicella-zoster virus.

Differences in the likelihood of acyclovir resistance-associated mutations in the thymidine kinase genes of herpes simplex virus 1 and varicella-zoster virus.
Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2019 Mar 11;:
Authors: Fujii H, Harada S, Yoshikawa T, Yamada S, Omura N, Shibamura M, Inagaki T, Kato H, Fukushi S, Saijo M
Abstract
Acyclovir (ACV) resistance-associated mutations in two recombinant herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) clones were compared. Recombinant HSV-1 lacking its thymidine kinase (TK) and expressing varicella-zoster virus (VZV) TK ectopically had no mutations in the VZV TK gene. By contrast, recombinant HSV-1 expressing HSV-1 TK ectopically harbored mutations in the HSV-1 TK gene. These results suggest that the relatively low frequency of ACV-resistant VZV is a consequence of the characteristics of the TK gene.
PMID: 30858222 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

Source: Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy - March 10, 2019 Category: Microbiology Authors: Fujii H, Harada S, Yoshikawa T, Yamada S, Omura N, Shibamura M, Inagaki T, Kato H, Fukushi S, Saijo M Tags: Antimicrob Agents Chemother Source Type: research