Comparative Analyses of the Proteins and Antigens of Five Herpesviruses

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Abstract
The proteins of 5 herpesviruses, herpes simplex types 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), bovine mammillitis virus (BMV), pseudorabies virus (PRV) and equine abortion virus (EAV), were compared by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of purified virus and by antigenic analysis using virus neutralization and agar-gel immunodiffusion tests. Although there were general similarities in the number, size range and overall complexity of polypeptides separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis from purified particles of the 5 viruses, no single component of identical mobility was present in all viruses. The major capsid polypeptide from each of the 5 viruses comprised about 10% of virion protein mass but had distinctive MW of 158,000 to 160,000 (HSV-2 and BMV), 145,000 (EAV) and 140,000 (PRV) relative to 155,000 for HSV-1. Despite differences of apparent molecular weight there was a one-for-one correspondence for the majority of structural polypeptides of HSV-1 and HSV-2 and many polypeptides of BMV were recognizably analogous to those of HSV-1 and HSV-2. In contrast the polypeptides of PRV and, more particularly, EAV differed markedly from those of all the other viruses. The antigenic analysis complemented these results; HSV-1, HSV-2 and BMV all cross-neutralized, but PRV and EAV were only neutralized by homologous antisera. Agar gel immunodiffusion tests with extracts of infected [mammalian] cells demonstrated at least 1 antigen common to all 5 viruses and showed BMV to be more closely related to HSV-1 and HSV-2 than were PRV or EAV although less closely related than HSV-1 to HSV-2. PRV and EAV share more antigens with each other than with the other viruses.