Cell tropism and expression of mouse hepatitis viruses (MHV) in mouse spinal cord cultures.

Mouse hepatitis viruses (MHV) are coronaviruses which cause various infections in mice affecting lung, intestine, liver, and other organs as well as the central nervous system. The replication of three different MHV strains was studied in mouse dissociated spinal cord cultures containing differentiated neurons and nonneuronal cells (NN) (including astrocytes). Cell tropism and maturation of each virus strain was analyzed by immunolabeling methods using antisera to the virion or to purified membrane glycoproteins (E and E) and by electron microscopy (EM).

Tunicamycin resistant glycosylation of coronavirus glycoprotein: demonstration of a novel type of viral glycoprotein.

Tunicamycin has different effects on the glycosylation of the two envelope glycoproteins of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV), a coronavirus. Unlike envelope glycoproteins of other viruses, the transmembrane glycoprotein El is glycosylated normally in the presence of tunicamycin. This suggests that glycosylation of El does not involve transfer of core oligosaccharides from dolichol pyrophosphate intermediates to asparagine residues, but may occur by 0-linked glycosylation of serine or threonine residues.

Persistence of herpes simplex virus type 1 in rat neurotumor cells.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection of a rat central nervous system tumor cell line led to almost complete destruction of the cells. Cells that survived the infection could be isolated and shown to produce infectious HSV particles for variable lengths of time in culture ranging from 20 to 57 passages. Even though infectious virus production eventually ceased, the cell lines continued to produce herpes-specified proteins as measured by immunological techniques.