Fatty acid synthase may facilitate the trafficking of bovine alpha herpesvirus 1 out of the Golgi apparatus, potentially promoting viral infection

Here, we found that fatty acid synthase (FASN) protein is potentially involved in virus infection both <i>in vitro</i> and <i>in vivo</i>. In terms of mechanism, a subset of FASN protein co-localizes with the viral glycoprotein gD, as revealed by confocal microscopy in both MDBK and Neuro-2A cell cultures. Interestingly, a subset of FASN protein localizes in the Golgi apparatus, and Cerulenin treatment retards the trafficking of virions out of the Golgi. Therefore, we propose that a portion of the FASN protein in the Golgi apparatus plays an important role in viral trafficking out of the Golgi, which is essential for the completion of the viral replication cycle. This represents a novel mechanism of virus infection regulation, which has not been reported in other viruses, although the FASN protein is involved in the regulation of multiple viruses through distinct mechanisms.