Inability of Simian Virus 40 To Establish Productive Infection of Lymphoblastic Cell Lines

Abstract

Lymphoblastic cell lines were infected with simian virus 40 (SV40) and then monitored for evidence of a productive infection. No evidence of early gene expression was found 2 days following infection, as determined by assaying viral mRNAs and early antigens. Furthermore, only small amounts of virus could be detected by plaque assay 2 days after infection, and levels slowly declined until they were undetectable after a few weeks in culture. Thus, human lymphocytes are not readily infectible with SV40 and do not provide a simple model for studying interactions of SV40 with a human cell type.

Simian virus 40 efficiently infects human T lymphocytes and extends their lifespan

“…Contrasting reports on the presence of SV40 in humans and its ability to infect blood cells have appeared in the literature [24,37]. As a consequence of these conflicting results, considerable debate has developed in the scientific community [2][3][4].…”