On the mechanism of the cytopathic changes produced in human amnion cell cultures by the molluscum contagiosum virus

Abstract

~: Molluscum contagiosum is an infectious disease of the human skin and is characterized by a localized proliferation of the epidermis forming a lobu]ated and umbilicated papule, which presents certain similarities to a localized neoplasm.The disease is caused by a virus (1, 2) which, studied by electron microscopic and histochemical procedures (3--10), has been shown to possess the basic characters of the pox-virus group.So far, all attempts to propagate the molluscum contagiosum virus in tissue cultures or to transmit the infection to laboratory animals have been unsuccessful (11 --13 ).Recently Neva (11) has demonstrated that molluscum contagiosum virus suspensions, prepared from patients' skin lesions, when inoculated into human amnion cell cultures, produce typical cytopathic changes which, according to ZTeva, seem to be the consequence of a toxic effect of the molluscum contagiosum virus, as no evidence of virus multiplication can be obtained in this system.In the course of a study on the behaviour of mo]luscum contagiosum virus in cell cultures, the preliminary results of which have already been communicated (14), we were able to confirm Neva's results. Moreover, our findings, reported in this paper, seem to indicate that the cytotoxic effect of molluscum contagiosum virus in human amnion cell cultures probably involves the partial functioning of the viral genome.

Some biological and physical properties of molluscum contagiosum virus propagated in cell culture

“…However, the results of serological studies (3, 19) have indicated the absence of an antigenic relationship with vaccinia, cowpox, or fowlpox viruses, and virus extracted from dermal lesions has been found incapable of "reactivation" of heat-inactivated vaccinia virus in primary amnion cells (15). There are several reports of attempts to isolate and propagate MCV in cell culture (4,5,13,20,24,28). Such studies have shown that the virus induces nontransmissible cytopathic changes in cells of different species without the production of infectious progeny virus.…”