Biologic and immunologic comparison of two HSV-2 variants

Summary This paper describes the properties of two herpesvirus Type 2 isolates from naturally occurring genital infections. The first (G), a virus isolated from recurrent lesions of the vulva, is an established Type 2 prototype. The second (S-1), was isolated from cervical tumor cells grown in tissue culture. It gives rise in HE_p-2 cells, to plaques morphologically identical to those caused by the G variant, and in neutralization tests, it cannot be differentiated from this isolate. However, S-1 differs from G virus in its growth properties at 33° and 37° C, its thermal stability at 41° C and the morphology and properties of intranuclear structures which have been previously described as characteristic of HSV-2 infections. The data indicate that the S-1 isolate is a distinct virus and did not result from the contamination of the cervical tumor cells with the G prototype. The possible significance of these findings in providing an explanation for i) the variability in biologic properties of herpesvirus isolates and ii) the realtionship of such properties to carcinogenesis, is discussed.