MAMDC2 and infection: We also observed a significant reduction in the level of transcripts expressed from α genes, including α0 and α4, at different times post infection in the context of MAMDC2-AS1 knockdown (Figure 5E).Given VP16 initiates the expression of HSV-1 α genes via binding the promoter of α0 and α4 genes, dual-luciferase assays were performed to determine the effect of MAMDC2-AS1 on their promoter activity.