Cell density dependence of ultraviolet light enhanced reactivation of Herpes simplex type I and the large plaque effect in C3H/10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts.

C3H/10T1/2 mouse fibroblasts were grown to different cell densities either by plating at low density and allowing different growth periods, or by plating at a series of increasing densities and allowing the same growth period. These plates were UV irradiated at 7.5 J/m2 or mock irradiated and 24 h later infected with UV-irradiated Herpes simplex type I virus which had been UV irradiated at 50 or 125 J/m2 or mock irradiated. The numbers and sizes of plaques were measured and these data used to calculate the extent of UV-enhanced host cell reactivation, the capacity enhancement, the large plaque effect (LPE) and the small plaque effect (SME). The influence of cell density on these phenomena was similar for both series of density experiments. Ultraviolet-enhanced host cell reactivation could be demonstrated only for cultures of lower density. The capacity of the cells for Herpes simplex type I virus decreased with cell density, but UV irradiated cells showed an increase in capacity with cell density. Plaque sizes decreased in all cases with cell density but the LPE and SPE were not significantly altered. The greatest variation in the above parameters occurred just as the cells were approaching confluence, where most host cell reactivation experiments are carried out. We conclude that the reproducibility of such experiments depends critically on cell density, a dependence which may be relevant to mechanistic interpretations of the UV-dependent phenomena.