Herpes simplex virus DNA in transformed cells: sequence complexity in five hamster cell lines and one derived hamster tumor

Abstract

Analyses of the hybridization kinetics of labeled herpes simplex virus 2 (HSV-2) DNA with DNA from 5 hamster cell lines transformed by UV-irradiated HSV-2 revealed the following. Viral DNA sequences were detected in all 5 cell lines tested. None of the cell lines contained the full complement of HSV-2 DNA. The amount of viral DNA present in the cells varied in different transformed cell lines and ranged from 8-32% of the HSV-2 DNA genome in 1-3 copies/cell. Two parallel passages of the same cell line (333-2-29) differed in the amount of viral DNA they contained. The viral DNA sequences present in 1 transformed cell line (333-8-9) propagated serially in culture for 80 passages, in a tumor produced by inoculation of a newborn hamster with 333-8-9 cells and in a cell line derived from a hamster tumor as above and propagated in culture for 32 passages were also compared. Viral DNA present in the hamster tumor and in the cells derived from the tumor had a lower sequence complexity than that present in the original serially passaged 333-8-9 cell line.