Abstract
Summary
The ultrastructure and viruscell relation of rabbit syncytium virus was studied by electron microscopy. The virus was seen in infected cell cultures, frequently in the cytoplasm and rarely in the nucleus, as a 650 Å-diameter, nonmembrane-bound sphere. It was rarely found in intracytoplasmic vesicles as a 750-800 Å-diameter, membrane-bound particle, the latter particle having acquired, in passing intravesicularly, a membrane derived from the vesicle wall The virus appeared to originate within dense cytoplasmic inclusions, and rarely, within similar nuclear inclusions. The virus particles were frequently associated with membrane-bound intracytoplasmic and intranuclear rods whose diameter was 750-1100 Å. The biologic significance of the rod structures is not known. Our findings suggest that the ultrastructure and the intracellular behavior of rabbit syncytium are unlike those associated with any known virus, but approach most nearly those associated with the virus of epizootic diarrhea of infant mice. Since the pathogenic potential of rabbit syncytium virus for man is unknown, we suggest that its absence be demonstrated in rabbit kidney cell cultures that might be used in preparation of vaccines for human use.
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