Prohibitin-1 Contributes to Cell-to-Cell Transmission of Herpes Simplex Virus 1 via the MAPK/ERK Signaling Pathway
Mizuki Watanabe, Jun Arii, Kosuke Takeshima, Ayano Fukui, Masayuki Shimojima, Hiroko Kozuka‐Hata, Masaaki Oyama, Takeharu Minamitani, Teruhito Yasui, Yuji Kubota, Mutsuhiro Takekawa, Isao Kosugi, Yuhei Maruzuru, Naoto Koyanagi, Akihisa Kato, Yasuko Mori, Yasushi Kawaguchi
Abstract
Herpesviruses are ubiquitous pathogens of various animals, including humans. These viruses primarily pass through cell junctions to spread to uninfected cells. This method of cell-to-cell spread is an important pathogenic characteristic of these viruses. Here, we show that the host cell protein prohibitin-1 contributes to HSV-1 cell-to-cell spread via a downstream intracellular signaling cascade, the MAPK/ERK pathway. We also demonstrate that the role of the prohibitin-1-mediated MAPK/ERK pathway in viral cell-to-cell spread is conserved in representative members of every herpesvirus subfamily. This study has revealed a common molecular mechanism of the cell-to-cell spread of herpesviruses.