Electron microscopic study on the development of herpesviruses

This review is concerned with comparative electron microscopic observations of in vitro cultured cells infected with twelve kinds of herpesviruses including six human herpesviruses. Morphological differences in intranuclear particles with cores of low density among these viruses mainly due to inherent differences in the ultrastructure of particular viruses, the morphological variety of intranuclear particles of herpes simplex virus due to their different developmental stages, and unusual structures observed in cells infected with some herpesviruses are described. Viral envelopment relevant to the final step of maturation of herpesviruses and their egress from infected cells are discussed.