FIG. 1.

Potential cell-free VZV on the surfaces of infected cells. Melanoma cells were inoculated with VZV-32-infected cells (1:8), fixed at 72 h postinfection, and then processed for viewing in transmission and scanning electron microscopes. Representative transmission electron microscopy sections (A and B) through VZV-infected cells showed the majority of VZV particles are on or near the surface of the infected cell rather than in the cytoplasm. Particles with discernible cores (capsid and DNA) are marked by black arrows. (C) SEM image of a section of a viral highway at magnification ×3,500. Small viral particles were clustered within the highway. (D) Image at magnification ×35,000 of the area enclosed by the rectangle in panel C. The image shows a single cluster of viral particles arranged along a filopodium. The majority of the visible particles were aberrant. N, nucleus.