Network #1 is closely associated with a signaling pathway of IL6, which is a cytokine known to be involved in cell proliferation and inflammatory responses [32]. The top functions related with genes in network #1 involve cancer, gastrointestinal disease, and the cell cycle. Interestingly, expression of certain genes in network #1 such as CDC20 (cell division cycle 20 homolog), PTTG1 (pituitary tumor transforming 1), CDC2, and Cyclin B, which are associated with cellular proliferation in cell cycle progression, appeared to be inversely related to IL6 expression. The dynamics of alterations in gene expression over time during ILTV infection suggest that ILTV infection elevates IL6 expression followed by the inhibition of cellular proliferation. In contrast, expression patterns of HPGD (hydroxyprostaglandin dehydrogenase 15-NAD), SOCS (suppressors of cytokine signaling), JAK (Janus kinase 1), and NASP (nuclear autoantigenic sperm protein) were independent of the IL6 expression pattern (Figure 5A, B and Additional file 5A). JAK is known to enhance cellular proliferation through the signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) pathway that can be suppressed by IL6 signaling [33]. The consistent downregulation of JAK supports a role of JAK in the repression of cellular proliferation by ILTV infection. The top functions of genes in network #2 are involved with cellular compromise, connective tissue disorders, and post-translational modifications. Several heat shock proteins (HSP) were also focused in this network (see Additional file 5B). Heat shock proteins, especially the HSP70 family that serve as molecular chaperones, are known to interact with viral early immediate genes in HSV-1 genomic DNA replication [34]. Interestingly, since the expression of several HSPs in network #2 were downregulated, it is reasonable to hypothesize that the lower HSP through 5 dpi may lead to production of erroneous virion structures of ILTV that in turn results in low ILTV titers in tissue culture, which has been reported to barely exceed one infectious unit per cell [1,35].