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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Vaccinia Reporter Viruses for Quantifying Viral Function at All Stages of Gene Expression
Published on: May 15, 2014
Vaccinia virus exhibits cell-type-dependent entry characteristics
J Charles Whitbeck1, Chwan-Hong Foo, Manuel Ponce de Leon
1School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. whitbeck@biochem.dental.upenn.edu
Abstract:
Differing and sometimes conflicting data have been reported regarding several aspects of vaccinia virus (VV) entry. To address this, we used a beta-galactosidase reporter virus to monitor virus entry into multiple cell types under varying conditions. Entry into HeLa, B78H1 and L cells was strongly inhibited by heparin whereas entry into Vero and BSC-1 cells was unaffected. Bafilomycin also exhibited variable and cell-type-specific effects on VV entry. Entry into B78H1 and BSC-1 cells was strongly inhibited by bafilomycin whereas entry into Vero and HeLa cells was only partially inhibited suggesting the co-existence of both pH-dependent and pH-independent VV entry pathways in these cell types. Finally, entry into HeLa, B78H1, L and BSC-1 cells exhibited a lag of 6-9 min whereas this delay was undetectable in Vero cells. Our results suggest that VV exploits multiple cell attachment and entry pathways allowing it to infect a broad range of cells.
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