# Dynamic interactions within alpha-herpesvirus virions and their impact on infection

> **NIH NIH R21** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $197,500

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Neuroinvasive alpha-herpesviruses such as herpes simplex virus (HSV) and pseudorabies virus
(PRV) cause a broad range of diseases in humans and other animals and are significant causes
of morbidity and mortality. Novel strategies to interfere with the virion structural rearrangements
required for infectivity could prove valuable to treat infections, yet critical aspects of the virion
architecture and its metastability remain poorly defined. In this application, we outline a strategy
to identify dynamic protein interactions within extracellular viral particles. The proposed research
will test the hypothesis that conditional interactions between the essential viral protein pUL36
and capsids contribute to critical steps in infection including viral disassembly and regulation of
pUL36 deubiquitinase activity: processes required for alpha-herpesviruses to establish life-long
infection of the nervous system.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10173637
- **Project number:** 5R21AI154104-02
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Gregory Allan Smith
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $197,500
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10173637

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10173637, Dynamic interactions within alpha-herpesvirus virions and their impact on infection (5R21AI154104-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10173637. Licensed CC0.

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