Interferon and Cytomegalovirus in vivo and in vitro.

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Abstract
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of several viruses that has been associated with long-term, chronic infection in humans and with the capacity to cross the placenta and initiate chronic infection in the fetus. The sensitivity of CMV to the antiviral action of interferon as well as the capacity of this virus to induce the production of interferon in infected cells was investigated. In vitro, the progression of CMV infection was unaffected by levels of interferon that conferred complete protection on replicate cultures infected with encephalomyocarditis, Sindbis, or vesicular stomatitis virus and partial protection against adenovirus and vaccinia virus. In human foreskin and WI-38 cultures, CMV failed to stimulate production of detectable levels of interferon when examined at different times after infection, and at varying stages of infection. Furthermore, cultures infected with CMV produced less interferon than control, non-infected cultures, thus suggesting that CMV may also have the capacity to inhibit interferon formation in virus-infected cells. The effect of endogenous interferon on the secretion of CMV in the urine of 3 chronically infected children was studied. Vaccination with attenuated measles virus resulted in significant interferon levels in the serum of 2 of the 3 children studied without affecting CMV excretion in the urine. One factor in the capacity of CMV to persist in human tissue is its relative insensitivity to interferon as shown both in vivo and in vitro, as well as its ability to infect cells without inducing the production of interferon.