Comparative Pathology of Cells Transformed by Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1 or Type 2

Summary

The morphology of hamster embryo cells transformed after infection with ultraviolet-irradiated herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) was described. A cell line developed after transformation by HSV-1 showed an epithelioid morphology, and cells transformed by HSV-2 resembled fibroblastoid cells. Epithelioid cells induced adenocarcinomas and fibroblastoid cells induced fibrosarcomas on injection of 5×10⁵ cells into newborn hamsters. Cells isolated from these tumors and grown in culture retained a morphology similar to that of the original cells before animal passage. They were readily transplantable to weanling hamsters. The pathology of the tumors in weanling hamsters again corresponded to the morphology of the cell injected.