HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Smith, K. O. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Smith, K. O.

Some Biologic Aspects of Herpesvirus-Cell Interactions in the Presence of 5-Iodo, 2-Desoxyuridine (IDU)

Demonstration of a Cytotoxic Effect by Herpesvirus¹

From the Department of Virology and Epidemiology, Baylor University College of Medicine, Houston, Texas

Abstract

The drug 5-iodo, 2-desoxyuridine (IDU) does not prevent adsorption of herpesvirus to cells but does prevent virus replication. Treatment of cells with the drug immediately after infection results in a loss of 96 to 99.5% of the input virus infectivity. Most of this loss occurs during the eclipse and the very early growth periods. The progeny of the surviving 0.5 to 4.5% fraction of virus is more resistant to similar destruction by IDU treatment. IDU stops viral replication already under way in infected cells but does not inactivate infectious virus already formed within these cells. IDU is unable to prevent or reverse significantly the cytopathic effects of herpesvirus on tissue culture cells. In fact, a highly reproducible cytotoxic effect is observable in infected cells in which viral replication is completely arrested by IDU treatment. When this cytotoxic effect was quantitated by counting the numbers of affected cells it was found to be about half of the infectious unit concentration. This cytotoxic characteristic is three times more stable to ultraviolet irradiation than is the infectivity and, thus, appears to be distinguishable from infectivity. Herpesvirus within infected cells is quite stable to thermal inactivation in the presence or absence of IDU; therefore, eradication of virus already present in tissue cultures solely by use of this drug would require long periods of time.

Footnotes

¹ Supported in part by a research grant, CA-04600, from the National Cancer Institute.