Replication and persistence of murine herpesvirus 72 in lymphatic system and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of Balb/C mice.

After intranasal inoculation of murine herpesvirus 72 (MHV-72) to Balb/c mice the virus persisted in adherent lung mononuclear cells (AMC). Infectious virus was occasionally detected during a period of eight months after infection in lymphatic organs (thymus, spleen, lymph nodes), bone marrow, alveolar and peritoneal AMC, and lymphocytes and macrophages of peripheral blood by indirect immunofluorescence and cocultivation with permissive VERO cells. Mouse B-cell lines NS0 and SP2/0 were permissive for MHV-72 infection when inoculated in vitro. Virus-neutralizing antibodies have been detected during one year period in the sera of infected mice, and their levels correlated with activation of the latent MHV-72.