Role of Polycomb Proteins in Regulating HSV-1 Latency

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) establishes a latent infection within sensory neurons of humans. Latency is characterized by the transcriptional repression of lytic genes by the condensation of lytic gene regions into heterochromatin. Recent data suggest that facultative heterochromatin predominates, and that cellular Polycomb proteins are involved in the establishment and maintenance of transcriptional repression during latency. This review summarizes these data and discusses the implication of viral and cellular factors in regulating heterochromatin composition.