Assemblons: nuclear structures defined by aggregation of immature capsids and some tegument proteins of herpes simplex virus 1

In cells infected with herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), the viral proteins ICP5 (infected-cell protein 5) and VP19c (the product of UL38) are associated with mature capsids, whereas the same proteins, along with ICP35, are components of immature capsids. Here we report that ICP35, ICP5, and UL38 (VP19c) coalesce at late times postinfection and form antigenically dense structures located at the periphery of nuclei, close to but not abutting nuclear membranes. These structures were formed in cells infected with a virus carrying a temperature-sensitive mutation in the UL15 gene at nonpermissive temperatures. Since at these temperatures viral DNA is made but not packaged, these structures must contain the proteins for immature-capsid assembly and were therefore designated assemblons. These assemblons are located at the periphery of a diffuse structure composed of proteins involved in DNA synthesis. This structure overlaps only minimally with the assemblons. In contrast, tegument proteins were located in asymmetrically distributed structures also partially overlapping with assemblons but frequently located nearer to nuclear membranes. Of particular interest is the finding that the UL15 protein colocalized with the proteins associated with viral DNA synthesis rather than with assemblons, suggesting that the association with DNA may take place during its synthesis and precedes the involvement of this protein in packaging of the viral DNA into capsids. The formation of three different compartments consisting of proteins involved in viral DNA synthesis, the capsid proteins, and tegument proteins suggests that there exists a viral machinery which enables aggregation and coalescence of specific viral protein groups on the basis of their function.