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REVIEW article

Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Virology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1515241
This article is part of the Research Topic Herpesviruses: Pathogenesis and Host Interactions View all 3 articles

The functions of herpesvirus shuttling proteins in the virus lifecycle

Provisionally accepted
Huijun Cao Huijun Cao 1,2,3,4,5Mingshu Wang Mingshu Wang 1,2,3,4,5*Anchun Cheng Anchun Cheng 1,2,3,4,5Bin Tian Bin Tian 1,2,3,4,5Qiao Yang Qiao Yang 1,2,3,4,5Xumin Ou Xumin Ou 1,2,3,4,5Di Sun Di Sun 1,2,3,4,5Yu He Yu He 1,2,3,4,5Zhen Wu Zhen Wu 1,2,3,4,5Xinxin Zhao Xinxin Zhao 1,2,3,4,5Ying Wu Ying Wu 1,2,3,4,5Shaqiu Zhang Shaqiu Zhang 1,2,3,4,5Juan Huang Juan Huang 1,2,3,4,5Yanling Yu Yanling Yu 1,2,3,4,5Ling Zhang Ling Zhang 1,2,3,4,5Shun Chen Shun Chen 1,2,3,4,5Mafeng Liu Mafeng Liu 1,2,3,4,5Dekang Zhu Dekang Zhu 1,2,3,4,5Renyong Jia Renyong Jia 1,2,3,4,5
  • 1 Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Chengdu 611130, China., Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 2 Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 3 International Joint Research Center for Animal Disease Prevention and Control of Sichuan Province, Chengdu 611130, China., Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 4 Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Immunology, Sichuan Agricultural University,, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 5 Research Center of Avian Disease, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    During viral infection, the transport of various proteins between the nucleus and cytoplasm plays an important role in the viral lifecycle. Shuttling proteins are key factors in the transmission of nucleocytoplasmic information within cells and usually contain nuclear localization signals and nuclear export signals to mediate correct positioning for themselves and other proteins. The nucleocytoplasmic transport process is carried out through the nuclear pore complex on the nuclear envelope and is mediated by specific protein carriers. The viral proteins that function through nucleocytoplasmic shuttling in herpesviruses have gradually been identified as research advances.This article provides an overview of how shuttling proteins utilize nucleocytoplasmic shuttling signals and nuclear transport receptors for nucleocytoplasmic transport, as well as discusses how herpesvirus shuttling proteins enhance the effective infection of viruses by affecting their lifecycle and participating in innate immunity, this review provides a reference for understanding the pathogenesis of herpesvirus infection and determining new antiviral strategies.

    Keywords: herpesvirus, shuttling proteins, Nuclear localization signal, Nuclear export signal, life cycle, innate immune escape, apoptosis 1 Introduction

    Received: 23 Oct 2024; Accepted: 10 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Cao, Wang, Cheng, Tian, Yang, Ou, Sun, He, Wu, Zhao, Wu, Zhang, Huang, Yu, Zhang, Chen, Liu, Zhu and Jia. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Mingshu Wang, Engineering Research Center of Southwest Animal Disease Prevention and Control Technology, Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Chengdu 611130, China., Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.