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Human Cytomegaloviruses pp 197–216Cite as

Methods to Study the Nucleocytoplasmic Transport of Macromolecules with Respect to Their Impact on the Regulation of Human Cytomegalovirus Gene Expression

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Part of the book series: Methods in Molecular Biology ((MIMB,volume 1119))

Abstract

One defining feature of eukaryotic cells is their compartmentalization into nucleus and cytoplasm which provides sophisticated opportunities for the regulation of gene expression. Accurate subcellular localization is crucial for the effective function of most viral macromolecules, and nuclear translocation is central to the function of herpesviral proteins that are involved in processes such as transcription or DNA replication. Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) encodes several transactivator proteins which stimulate viral gene expression either on the transcriptional or posttranscriptional level. In this chapter, we focus on nucleocytoplasmic transport mechanisms of either proteins or RNA that are utilized during HCMV infection. We describe commonly used assays to determine the subcellular localization of a protein, its nucleocytoplasmic shuttling activity, its capacity to export unspliced RNA from the nucleus, and its association with RNA in vivo.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank past and present members of the laboratory whose work has contributed to studies that are described in the review. Research in the Stamminger laboratory was supported by the DFG (SFB796), the IZKF Erlangen, and the graduate school BIGSS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Clinical and Molecular Virology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany

    Marco Thomas, Barbara Zielke & Nina Reuter

  2. Institute for Clinical and Molecular Virology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Schlossgarten 4, Erlangen, 91054, Germany

    Thomas Stamminger

Authors
  1. Marco Thomas
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  2. Barbara Zielke
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  3. Nina Reuter
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  4. Thomas Stamminger
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Stamminger .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Louisiana State University Health Scienc, Shreveport, Louisiana, USA

    Andrew D. Yurochko

  2. Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Cincinnati College of Medi, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    William E. Miller

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Thomas, M., Zielke, B., Reuter, N., Stamminger, T. (2014). Methods to Study the Nucleocytoplasmic Transport of Macromolecules with Respect to Their Impact on the Regulation of Human Cytomegalovirus Gene Expression. In: Yurochko, A., Miller, W. (eds) Human Cytomegaloviruses. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1119. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-788-4_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-62703-788-4_12

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  • Publisher Name: Humana Press, Totowa, NJ

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-62703-787-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-62703-788-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Protocols

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