Cytomegalovirus infection and viral-induced transformation of human endothelial cells.

Human cytomegalovirus (CMV) has been associated with vascular pathology. In vivo, CMV is present in vessel wall cells during acute and chronic infections as well as in atherosclerotic lesions. CMV nucleic acids and proteins have also been detected within Kaposi's sarcoma lesions. Because of these associations, we studied the interaction of CMV with human endothelial cells with particular attention to its oncogenicity in this cell type. Our data demonstrate that human endothelial cells are permissive to viral replication but that the viral replication cycle is delayed compared with fibroblast cells. Persistent infections can result with minimal cytopathology. CMV can transform these cells to anchorage-independent growth, and noninfectious virus is still capable of inducing this transforming event. Our results demonstrate that productive or persistent CMV infection of endothelial cells and viral-induced transformation can occur, thus providing an in vitro correlate of in vivo events.