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. 1996 May;70(5):2774–2780. doi: 10.1128/jvi.70.5.2774-2780.1996

In vitro infection of primary and retrovirus-infected human leukocytes by human foamy virus.

J A Mikovits 1, P M Hoffman 1, A Rethwilm 1, F W Ruscetti 1
PMCID: PMC190134  PMID: 8627751

Abstract

The infectivity of human foamy virus (HFV) was examined in primary and cultured human leukocytes. Cell-free infectious viral stocks of HFV were prepared from the human kidney cell line 293 transfected with an infectious molecular clone of HFV. HFV productively infects a variety of human myeloid and lymphoid cell lines. In addition, primary cell cultures enriched for human CD4+, monocytes and brain-derived microglial cells, were readily infected by HFV. Interestingly, while infected primary CD4+ lymphocytes and microglial cells showed marked cytopathology characteristic of foamy virus, HFV-infected monocyte-derived macrophages failed to show any cytopathology. In addition, marked cytotoxicity due to HFV infection was seen in both human T-cell leukemia virus type 1- and human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected T-cell lines and in human immunodeficiency virus type 1-infected monocytoid cell lines. Thus, HFV infection produces differential cytopathology in a wide host range of primary human leukocytes and hematopoietic cell lines.

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Selected References

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