Involvement of heparan sulfate during mouse cytomegalovirus infection in murine-derived immortalized neuronal cell line

Cytomegalovirus infection cause of severe developmental disorders of the CNS. Aim: In this study, we utilized a differentiated mouse-derived hippocampal cell line (dHT22) to understand mouse CMV (MCMV) infection. Results: The expression of immediate early genes (IE) 1 and 3 confirmed the time-dependent susceptibility of dHT22 cells to MCMV infection. MCMV infection alters the cellular distribution of heparan sulfate (HS). In addition, pretreatment with heparinase significantly reduces virus infectivity. Conclusion: The compartmentalization of HS in MCMV infected cells suggests multiple roles of HS in virus life cycle ranging from viral entry to viral transport and cellular remodeling. An enzymatic heparinase assay confirmed that HS is critical for viral entry and trafficking.