Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 23, 2026
A Primary Neuron Culture System for the Study of Herpes Simplex Virus Latency and Reactivation
Published on: April 2, 2012
Reactivation of infectious simian virus 40 from normal human tissues
Giuseppe Barbanti-Brodano1, Fernanda Martini, Alfredo Corallini
1Department of Morphology and Embryology, Section of Histology and Embryology, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
Abstract:
In this study, 82 DNA samples of simian virus 40 (SV40)-positive human tumors and normal tissues were transfected into SV40-permissive monkey cells. SV40 wild-type strain 776 was reactivated from two DNA samples, derived from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of a blood donor and from a vulvar tissue. SV40 reactivation was confirmed by obtaining rescue of SV40 from the DNA of the vulvar tissue in a second transfection experiment. This investigation indicates that infectious SV40 is present in normal human tissues and suggests that (i) PBMCs are probably vectors of SV40 to different tissues of the host and (ii) blood and sexual transmission may be routes of SV40 infection in humans, leading to (iii) virus spread in the human population.
