FIG. 7.

In situ activation of cellular genes for dNTP synthesis during infection of the liver. Immunocompromised BALB/c mice were infected with 10⁵ PFU of the viruses indicated. n. i. (not infected), uninfected but immunocompromised mice, showing that 6.5-Gy total-body gamma irradiation does not by itself stimulate the expression of genes involved in dNTP synthesis; UV, mice mock infected with UV light-inactivated mCMV-WT.BAC^UV in a dose corresponding to 10⁵ PFU; WT, infectious mCMV-WT.BAC. The analysis was performed 10 days after infection. (A) Expression levels (ΔΔC_T values) relative to GAPDH transcripts. The bars (solid bars, RNR; open bars, TS) represent the median values for three mice per experimental group; the error bars indicate the range. (B) Normalization of the relative expression levels of RNR to the numbers of E1 transcripts per 500 ng of total RNA (top) or to the numbers of infected MCP⁺ cells per defined liver tissue section area of 10 mm² in order to take account of differences in tissue infection density. (C) Expression levels (ΔΔC_T values) relative to β-actin in preparatively purified hepatocytes (Hc) and NPLCs derived from livers infected with mCMV-IE1-Y165C or from livers of a control group that was immunocompromised by total-body gamma irradiation but left uninfected. The section NPLC* shows the conservatively estimated contribution of contaminating NPLCs (10% in this experiment) to RNR and TS transcription in the hepatocyte fraction. The bars (solid bars, RNR; open bars, TS) represent the median values for three mice per experimental group; the error bars indicate the range. n. i., not infected.