Bertke Lab

Research focus

NIH R01 · 2025

Stress Hormone Regulation of HSV1 and HSV2 in Autonomic and Sensory Neurons

Stress Hormone Regulation of HSV1 and HSV2 in Autonomic and Sensory Neurons Abstract HSV1 and HSV2 recurrences typically result in skin lesions but may also cause blindness, sacral meningitis, or life-threatening encephalitis. Stress is known to be one of the primary triggers for HSV recurrent disease, although surprisingly little is known about how it does so. Although most studies have focused on viral latency in sensory neurons of either the trigeminal ganglia or lumbosacral dorsal root ganglia, HSV also establishes latency in autonomic neurons, which innervate the face and genitals very differently, are highly responsive to known reactivation stimuli, and likely contribute to…

From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.