Microscopic examination of the intracellular fate of infectious herpes simplex virus DNA

The intracellular fate of 3H-labeled exogenous herpes simplex virus type 2 DNA following the exposure of recipient cells to selected DNA facilitators and the ultrastructural changes which ensued in transfected cultures were examined. In most cases, electron microscopic radioautography demonstrated that exogenous DNA reached the nucleus within 1 h postinoculation. At later time periods, enlargement of nuclei and margination of chromatin were noted. Cells treated with polyornithine differed significantly from those treated with other facilitators in that large cytoplasmic accumulations of labeled material associated with electron-dense, membrane-bound bodies persisted after 1 h postinoculation. In contrast, labeled DNA released by intact virions was detected in the nucleus as early as 20 min postinfection (p.i.), and progeny virus was evident by 8 h p.i. These results suggest that the efficiency of each facilitator is related to the rapidity with which exogenous DNA penetrates the recipient cell, traverses the cytoplasm, and the amount of DNA which is finally associated with the nuclear compartment.