OXYGEN-TENSION AND SELECTIVE TROPISM OF K-VIRUS FOR MOUSE PULMONARY ENDOTHELIUM

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Abstract
The unique nature of K-virus pneumonitis in suckling mice, rather than being a conventional pneumonitis, is characterized by viral replication and cytopathic effects restricted exclusively to pulmonary endothelium. The selective viral attack on this air-blood interface suggests that K-virus is an endotheliotrope that requires a richly oxygenated intracellular milieu for replication. This possibility was explored by studies of the course of K-virus infection in suckling mice under conditions of normal (21%), increased (40%) and decreased (10%) O2 content of inspired air. The absence of critical modulating influences of these varied environmental conditions rules out a significant role of tissue O2 concentrations as determinants of the selective tropism of K-virus.