VZV infection of primary keratinocytes

Our aim was to investigate the interaction between epidermal differentiation and VZV infection. By means of a calcium-induced keratinocyte differentiation model and RNA-seq we show VZV infection has a profound effect on differentiating keratinocytes and hijacks the normal process of epidermal gene expression to generate a signature resembling patterns of gene expression seen in both heritable and acquired skin-blistering disorders. Analysis of the viral transcriptome provides evidence that VZV replication in skin is tightly linked to differentiation and critically, that late viral gene expression is associated with cellular differentiation. The experiment was performed on human primary keratinocytes under four conditions: undifferentiated/uninfected, uninfected/differentiated, VZV-infected/undifferentiated and VZV-infected/differentiated.