Replication and persistence of murine herpesvirus 72 in lymphatic system and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of Balb/C mice.

After intranasal inoculation of murine herpesvirus 72 (MHV-72) to Balb/c mice the virus persisted in adherent lung mononuclear cells (AMC). Infectious virus was occasionally detected during a period of eight months after infection in lymphatic organs (thymus, spleen, lymph nodes), bone marrow, alveolar and peritoneal AMC, and lymphocytes and macrophages of peripheral blood by indirect immunofluorescence and cocultivation with permissive VERO cells. Mouse B-cell lines NS0 and SP2/0 were permissive for MHV-72 infection when inoculated in vitro. Virus-neutralizing antibodies have been detected during one year period in the sera of infected mice, and their levels correlated with activation of the latent MHV-72.

Further isolation of murine herpesviruses from small mammals in southwestern Slovakia.

A total of 69 small mammals of 6 species were collected in localities Marcelová and Kopác (southwestern Slovakia) and investigated. Two strains of murine herpesvirus (MHV) have been isolated and reisolated from Apodemus flavicollis. Both virus strains killed suckling mice after i.c. and i.p. inoculation. Adult mice were killed 4-7 days after i.c. inoculation. Cross antigenic reactions among 14C aminoacid hydrolysate labelled MHV-72 infected Vero cells and mouse immune sera against the two new isolates and rabbit immune sera raised against purified MHV strains No. 72 and No. 76 were done. Profiles of immunoprecipitated proteins are almost identical. All used immune sera crossreacted with major proteins of MHV-72 strain. We conclude that the two virus isolates from Apodemus flavicollis are new strains of MHV.