Apoptosis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of viral infections.In this study,we investigated the cell death processes during productive HHV-6A infection and the underlying mechanisms.Annexin V-PI staining and electron microscopy indicated that HHV-6A is a strong inducer of apoptosis.HHV-6A infection decreased mitochondrial transmembrane potential and led to morphological changes of mitochondria.The cell death was associated with activation of caspase-3 and cleavage of DNA repair enzyme poly （ADP-ribose） polymerase,which is known to be an important substrate for activated caspase-3.Caspase-9 was activated significantly in HHV-6A-infected cells,whereas caspase-8 was not activated obviously.Moreover,HHV-6A infection upregulated Bax and downregulated Bcl-2.This is the first demonstration of mitochondrion-mediated,caspase-dependent apoptosis in HHV-6A-infected cells.
Lingyun LiJing ChiFeng ZhouDandan GuoFang WangGenyan LiuChun ZhangKun Yao
