Alterations of Neutral Glycolipids in Cells Infected with Syncytium-Producing Mutants of Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1

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Abstract
The isolation of syncytium-producing mutants of herpes simplex virus type 1 (KOS strain), which cause extensive cell fusion during otherwise normal infections, was reported previously. Seven of these mutants, plus 2 syncytial strains obtained elsewhere, were used to compare the incorporation of labeled galactose into neutral glycolipids of mock-infected, wild-type-infected, and syncytially infected human embryonic lung cells. Five predominant cellular glycolipid species were observed, denoted GL-1 through GL-5 in order of increasing oligosaccharide chain length; e.g., GL-1 and GL-2 correspond to glycolipids that contain mono- and dissacharide units, respectively. Wild-type virus infection caused an increase in galactose incorporation into GL-1 and GL-2 relative to GL-3 through GL-5. For a single labeling interval from 4-10 h after adsorption, syncytial infections generally resulted in a relatively greater incorporation into more complex glycolipids than did wild-type infections. One mutant, syn 20, was compared with wild-type virus throughout infection by using a series of shorter labeling pulses and appeared to delay by at least 2 h the alterations observed during wild-type infections. These alterations are apparently due to defects in synthesis, since prelabeled cellular glycolipids were not differentially degraded during mock or virus infection.