Fig. 7.

CD11c+ cells, monocytes and HPSCs are the main cellular reservoirs of latent MCMV in BM; exposure of CD11c+ cells to GM-CSF/IL-4 followed by treatment with LPS is associated with reactivation in vitro. (a) Experimental regimen. CD11c+ cells, monocytes and HSPCs were each independently purified from BMCs isolated from BALB/c mice 3 months p.i. with Smith virus using MACS beads. CD11c+ cells were enriched from BMCs with CD11c microbeads. CD11c+ cells were cultured in GM-CSF/IL-4 containing medium followed by treatment or no treatment with a 100 ng ml⁻¹ LPS pulse for 48 h. These cells were co-cultured with MEFs, and inspected under microscope for CPE. The conditioned medium (supernatant) was collected for plaque assay when CPE was observed, which usually appear between 24 and 30 days. If no CPE was observed by day 30, the supernatant was also collected for plaque assay, and the co-culture was terminated. (b) CPE was observed under the microscope in the MEF co-cultures. (c) Plaque assay and viral titre in the supernatant samples of the co-cultures. The titre of the virus was expressed as p.f.u./million cells. N=8 for all of the groups. Multiple individual Student's t-tests were performed. *P≤0.05.