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Uncovering Cryptic Genes: Functional Dissection of HSV-1 UL31.6 as a Neuron-Specific Virulence Factor
Septmber 16, 2025, 10 a.m. ET
Think we already know everything about herpes simplex virus 1? Think again.
Join us for the next Journal of Virology Seminar Series with Akihisa Kato, Ph.D., and Yasushi Kawaguchi, Ph.D., as they present new research into a cryptic HSV-1 gene with unexpected relevance to neurovirulence. In this webinar, they’ll reveal how a previously overlooked region of the HSV-1 genome—long considered functionally silent—harbors a gene with a surprising role in viral behavior.
Through a powerful combination of ribosome profiling, proteomics and traditional virological methods, Kato and Kawaguchi uncovered new evidence that challenges long-held assumptions about HSV-1 gene expression and viral spread in neurons. Their findings, detailed in , highlight the need to re-examine the viral genome with new tools and perspectives—revealing just how much remains to be uncovered about how neurotropic viruses operate.
Don’t miss this opportunity to discover how re-examining the HSV-1 genome sparked paradigm-shifting insights into pathogenesis and raised new questions about the complex ways herpesviruses interact with the nervous system.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Understand the importance of supporting genome-wide screening results with step-by-step experimental validation, including expression profiling and functional assays.
- Learn how classical virological methods remain essential for the functional characterization of newly identified viral genes.
- Gain insights into how viral genes contribute to tissue-specific pathogenicity through analysis using intracranial and ocular infection models.
Presenters
- Akihisa Kato, Ph.D., The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (IMSUT).
- Yasushi Kawaguchi, Ph.D., The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (IMSUT).
- Moderated by Anna Cliffe, Ph.D., University of Virginia School of Medicine.
- Hosted by Felicia Goodrum, Ph.D., Co-Editor in Chief, Journal of Virology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
About the Journal
The ® (JVI) is a 91麻豆精品journal dedicated to publishing primary research, minireviews and other article formats that interrogate fundamental processes and structure in viruses, the mechanisms by which they interact and evolve with their host and environment, novel methodologies and therapeutic and diagnostic strategies.
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