Effect of histone modifying enzyme inhibitors on the number of viral genomes expressed per cell. Vero cells were infected at multiplicity of infection (MOI) 100, 50, or 10 with a mixture of the three fluorophore expressing herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) strains. (A–D) Representative images taken 6–8 hpi of infected cells at MOI 100 (A,B) or 10 (C,D) show the variability in the hues as a result of the three different fluorescent colors (mCherry – red, YFP – Green, and mTurq2 – blue). Infection was carried out in the presence (B,D) or absence (A,C) of Trichostatin A (TSA). Scale bars 50 μM. (E) Images were used for calculating the average number of genomes expressed per cell. The infected cells were incubated with different inhibitors, 3 h prior to infection. Color coded as follows: No inhibitor – red, TSA – lightest blue, Suberohydroxamic Acid (SBX) – light blue, Valproic Acid (VPA) – blue, Suberoylanilide Hydroxamic Acid (SAHA) – dark blue, and Anacardic Acid (AA) in gray. Each bar represents at least two biological repeats and error bars represent standard deviations between the repeats. ∗P < 0.05, ∗∗
P < 0.01; ∗∗∗P < 0.001; by t-test.