SUMMARYLymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) infection of most tissue culture cell lines results in a non-cytopathic persistent infection. Persistent infections in vitro share many characteristics with persistent LCMV infection of mice; both are associated with decreased titres of infectious virus, restricted accumulation of viral glycoproteins at the surface of infected cells and the generation of interfering particles. We have used gel electrophoresis and hybridization techniques to analyse LCMV gene expression during persistent infection of a number of tissue culture cell lines. Our study has demonstrated that, although deleted viral RNAs can be detected during persistent LCMV infection in vitro, there may not be an obligatory association between deleted RNAs and persistence. In addition, we have found that LCMV interfering activity can be produced in the apparent absence of deleted intracellular viral RNAs.
Infection of newborn mice with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) results in a lifelong persistent infection. Persistently infected animals continuously produce low levels of infectious virus and accumulate large amounts of intracellular viral nucleic acid (P. J. Southern, P. Blount, and M. B. A. Oldstone, Nature [London] 312:555-558, 1984). We have used gel electrophoresis and hybridization techniques to analyze viral RNAs that appear during the establishment and maintenance of a persistent LCMV infection in vivo to identify any role for defective and/or defective interfering RNAs. We have found a complex, heterogeneously sized population of viral RNAs in multiple independent tissues that is uniquely associated with persistent infections in vivo, but we have not yet established whether these RNAs have a causal or a consequential association with persistent infection by LCMV. Within the complex virus RNA population, full-length genomic L and S RNAs were readily detectable and represented the most abundant individual viral RNA species. RNAs apparently corresponding in size to the viral nucleoprotein and glycoprotein mRNAs could also be detected in these tissue RNA samples. The presence of glycoprotein mRNA indicates a potential mechanism of posttranscriptional regulation to account for the previously documented restriction in viral glycoprotein expression in persistently infected mice (M. B. A. Oldstone and M.
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