Selective permissiveness of TPA differentiated THP-1 myelomonocytic cells for human cytomegalovirus strains AD169 and Towne.

Two highly passaged laboratory strains of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), AD169 and Towne, were tested for their ability to infect and replicate in THP-1 myelomonocytic cells differentiated with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). TPA treatment of human THP-1 cells increased the number of cells that expressed HCMV immediate early (IE1) antigen from 0.06% prior to TPA treatment to 12% following cell differentiation. The Towne but not the AD169 strain replicated in differentiated THP-1 cells as determined by HCMV DNA replication and infectious virus production. Major early (HCMVTRL4) mRNA was present in both the abortive and productive THP-1 cell infections.