Nucleolar proteins nucleolin and nucleophosmin 1 differentially relocalize during equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EHV1) infection.

We investigated equine nucleolar proteins nucleophosmin 1 (NPM1) and nucleolin (NCL) during EHV1 infection to develop understanding of EHV1-nucleolar interactions. Equine NPM1 primarily localized throughout nucleoli whereas NCL accumulated in a peri-nucleolar ring and localized throughout the nucleoplasm. EHV1 did not notably affect NPM1 or NCL protein levels but did alter their subnuclear localization. NPM1 accumulated in EHV1 replication compartments and remained nucleolus-associated until very late infection stages, characterized by a kidney bean-shaped nucleus and round cell morphology. NCL remained distributed throughout the nucleus although it dispersed from nucleoli. EHV1 thus differentially alters NPM1 and NCL subnuclear and nucleolar localization.