FIG. 1.

Comparison of growth curves between uninfected mice and mice infected either during neonatal period (A and B) or as young adults (C and D). BALB/c mice were injected intracerebrally with 5 × 10² PFU of mutant MCMV (RM461), which contains a disruption of CC chemokine homolog gene (43, 44) (A), or 2 μl of MEM (B) and maintained for more than 180 days. ∗, P < 0.05 versus MEM-injected control mice (Student's t test). Young adult mice (6 weeks old) were also injected intracerebrally with 5 × 10⁵ PFU of mutant MCMV (RM461) (C) or injected with 50 μl of MEM (D). Each group consisted of five mice that were maintained for more than 180 days after injection. Body weight was measured every week. Each group consists of more than six animals. Bars indicate standard deviation.