Herpes simplex virus infections in male and female mice following pinna inoculation: responses to primary infection and artificially induced recurrent disease.

The pathogenesis of herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is now well understood. After humans or experimental animals recover from primary infection, the virus remains latent in sensory ganglia of the peripheral nervous system. Latency, for the most part, remains unresolved, and elucidating the mechanisms involved with latency has proved difficult. The requirement for unravelling HSV latency is the availability of a reproducible animal model. Previously, the mouse ear model has been extensively characterized; however, many studies using this model have involved female mice only despite evidence that recurrent HSV infection in humans may vary by gender. We inoculated male and female mice subcutaneously in the pinna with varying amounts of one of four strains of HSV and monitored the mice for signs of primary infection. Following recovery from primary infection, mice were induced to develop recurrent disease. In addition, we attempted to isolate virus from dorsal root ganglia of mice suspected of harboring latent virus. There were no differences in the response of male and female mice to either primary infection or artificially induced recurrent disease when inoculated with the same virus. Differences were noted when female mice were inoculated with different strains of virus.

Apparent stability of herpes simplex virus genomes isolated from primary and recurrent infections and dorsal root ganglia in the mouse.

Following natural or experimental primary infection, herpes simplex virus (HSV) becomes latent in sensory ganglia. Reactivation of latent virus may lead to recurrent disease. If HSV DNA remains stable during primary, recurrent and latent infections, that stability would enable us to trace the transmission of HSV from one individual to another. We inoculated mice in the ear pinna with HSV and collected virus at various intervals during primary infection. In mice surviving primary infections, recurrent disease was induced from which virus was isolated. Virus was also recovered from explanted dorsal root ganglia. Virus isolates were characterised by restriction endonuclease digestion and compared with the original inoculate(s). The data indicate that in all cases except two, the isolates from primary and recurrent infections remained identical to the original inoculates.

Prolonged excretion of an identical cytomegalovirus strain by two siblings and the intermittent isolation of an adenovirus from the urine of one of them.

Restriction endonucleases were used to show the excretion of an identical strain of cytomegalovirus (CMV) by two brothers over a 2 1/2-yr period. The same enzymes were used to show that the younger brother, case report, excreted an adenovirus over at least a 3-mo period. We are unable to determine the contribution of each virus to this child's clinical picture; however, this is the first report of a prolonged excretion of an adenovirus associated with CMV excretion in an immunocompetent host.

Visualization of replicating herpes simplex virus in cervical dorsal root ganglia of mice following explant of individual ganglion onto susceptible indicator cells.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) establishes a latent state in the sensory ganglia of the peripheral nervous system of its natural or experimental host following primary infection. At various times thereafter, the virus can be reactivated from the latent state whereby it migrates back to the periphery and sometimes initiates a clinical syndrome referred to as recurrent disease. We inoculated mice in the right ear pinna and, following recovery from primary infection, killed the mice at various intervals following either the presence or absence of peripheral stimulations. Explanted cervical dorsal root ganglia yielded HSV in culture and was positive for HSV-like virus particles when viewed with the electron microscope. Hematoxylin and eosin staining showed neuron degeneration, and corresponding HSV-specific immunoperoxidase stains were also positive. The data indicate that ganglionic cells are capable of supporting replicating HSV and that, in vitro, numerous ganglionic cells can be infected simultaneously.

Genome variation of 5 clinical adenovirus type 2 isolates determined by restriction enzyme digestion analysis. Brief report.

The restriction enzymes Eco RI, Hind III and Pst I have been used to show that 5 adenovirus type 2 isolates can be divided into 2 genome types and within each type there are different genome variations.

Restriction endonuclease digestion analysis of DNA from viruses isolated from different sites of two fatal cases of herpes simplex virus type-1 infection.

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type-1 was isolated from a fatal case of herpes simplex encephalitis (case 1) and from a fatal case of disseminated herpes simplex (case 2). The virus was isolated from the lip lesion, the frontal lobe and the temporal lobe of the brain in case 1 and from a mesenteric node, myocardium and salivary gland in case 2. Restriction endonuclease digestion analysis showed that each case was infected with different substrains of HSV. The changes in band pattern in isolates from case 1 occurred in the "variable" region of the genome, showing that viruses with such variations can be isolated simultaneously from different tissues. The changes in band patterns in isolates from case 2 indicated the presence of two virus substrains, one in the mesenteric node and salivary gland and a second in the myocardium.

Concurrent oral and genital infection with an identical strain of herpes simplex virus type 1. Restriction endonuclease analysis.

The virus isolated from concurrent genital and oropharyngeal lesions of a male patient was identified as herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) by rate neutralization and biological marker tests. Analysis by digestion with restriction endonuclease revealed that isolates from the penis and anterior pillars had identical patterns, similar to those of prototype HSV-1. Data indicate that a person can be infected with the same strain of HSV-1 in two different sites at the same time.

Antibodies to hepatitis A antigen in relation to the number of lifetime sexual partners in patients attending an STD clinic.

Samples of serum from 421 patients attending a clinic for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) were tested by radioimmunoassay for determination of the prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A antigen (anti-HA). It was found that 42 . 4% of 33 homosexual men, 39 . 4% of 218 heterosexual men, and 38 . 8% of 170 female patients had positive results for anti-HA. The association between serological results and data on STD patients, using the variables of age, sexual type and preference, number of sexual partners in the preceding six months, and number of lifetime sexual partners and age, was determined statistically. The results show that the number of lifetime sexual partners is another factor concerned in the high prevalence of anti-HA.

Prevalence of antibodies to Hepatitis A antigen in sera from patients with haematological malignancies.

The prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A (anti-HA) was investigated in patients attending a clinic for haematological malignancies. Patients were divided into three age groups; the number with antibodies in each group was recorded. Of the 130 patients studied, 44% of those aged 4-26, 70% of those aged 27-50, and 83% of those aged 51-76, were positive. This study identifies patients attending a clinic for haematological malignancies (ie, patients with immunologic deficiencies) as a group of people having a high prevalence of anti-HA. In the oldest group (51-76), urban patients had a higher prevalence than rural patients - a pattern similar to that observed in elderly Red Cross blood donors in a previous study. Seroconversion was noted in six patients, three of whom seroconverted from anti-HA-negative to anti HA-positive within 12 months of the initial visit to the clinic.

Prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A antigen in patients attending a clinic for treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

Samples of serum from 970 people in Nova Scotia, Canada, were tested by radioimmunoassay for determination of the prevalence of antibodies to hepatitis A antigen (anti-HA). Volunteer blood donors aged 16--26 years or 51 years old or older provided 575 samples. Other samples were obtained from 152 students accepted for nursing training at the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax, Nova Scotia, and from 243 patients of the Special Urology (sexually transmitted diseases) clinic of the hospital. Percentages of samples positive for anti-HA were determined according to classification of the donors by age, rural vs. urban location, sex, and attendance at the clinic. Samples were positive for 43.4% of the male patients and 45.8% of the female patients at the clinic, 13.8% of the student nurses, 12.6% of the young blood donors, and 69.1% of the older blood donors. A higher prevalence of anti-HA in donors was associated with increased age, urban environment, and attendance at a clinic for treatment of sexually transmitted diseases.

Ribonuclease activity during G1 arrest of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

When cells of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, were deprived of nitrogen, a condition leading to G1 arrest, there was an immediate increase in the levels of total ribonuclease (RNase) activity within these cells. During starvation, only the cells arrested in G1 showed increased RNase activity. Although the RNase activities of extracts of starved and actively growing cells were similarly influenced by pH, the activities of starved cells were less stable on both storage and heating. Differences were also noted in substrate specificity. The results of this study suggest that arrest within G1 may increase RNase activity. However, all RNases did not appear to be influenced equally, since the total pool of RNase activity from log phase and G1 arrested cells showed differences in stability and substrate specificity.

RNA-dependent DNA-polymerase activity in human milk.

A simple method is described for testing milk specimens from nursing mothers for the presence of RNA-dependent DNA-polymerase activity. Positive results were obtained in five of 137 women (3.6%) without a family history of breast cancer, and in six of 31 women (19.3%) with a family history of breast cancer.

A study of various changes in transfer ribonucleic acid methylase activity during adenovirus-12 transformation in vitro.

A number of parameters were used to correlate a change in control or expression of tRNA methylase activity and the transformation by adenovirus-12 in vitro. The earliest change observed corresponding to visible morphological changes was a decrease in the tRNA methylase inhibitor(s).

Bases methylated in vitro by cell-free extracts of adenovirus-18-induced tumours.

The tRNA methylase activity in vitro of adenovirus-18-induced tumour was studied. The activity expressed per mg of protein was the same for extracts of tumours induced by either adenovirus-12 or adenovirus-18. The methylated bases isolated after incubation with extract from adenovirus-18-induced tumour were N(1)-methylguanine, 1-methyladenine, 3-methyladenine and N(6)-methyladenine.