Flow microfluorometric analysis of herpesvirus infected BHK-21 and BALB/3T3 cell cultures

The interaction of herpes simplex type 1 with two eukaryotic cell lines (BHK-21 and BALB/3T3) was investigated by flow microfluorometric analysis after cell staining with mithramycin. Uninfected, lytically infected and persistently infected cell populations were examined. Viral replication within an infected cell population could be detected via FMF analysis. The low levels of viral replication occurring within persistently infected cell populations were also detectable. A marked degree of correlation was noted between morphological observations of infected cultures and the FMF profiles obtained. The results deomonstrate the great potential of this technique for the early detection and analysis of viral infection.