Maintenance of replicative intermediates in ganciclovir-treated human cytomegalovirus-infected retinal glia
E. M. Burd, J. S. Pulido, D. G. Puro and W. J. O'Brien
Department of Ophthalmology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, USA.
OBJECTIVES: To characterize the molecular structure of the human
cytomegalovirus (HCMV) DNA maintained in cultures of human retinal glia
following ganciclovir treatment and to determine the biological activity of
the DNA. METHODS: Cultures of human retinal glia were established, infected
with HCMV, treated with ganciclovir, and embedded in agarose, and the viral
DNA was analyzed by field inversion gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: The HCMV
DNA was found to persist in cultures of infected, ganciclovir-treated
retinal glial cells in the form of replicative intermediates. After removal
of ganciclovir, processed forms of DNA in the 500-to 1000-kilobase range
were found as well as 230-kb unit length genome. Infectious virus was
recovered after termination of ganciclovir treatment. CONCLUSION: The data
are consistent with the concept that ganciclovir's virostatic nature
permits maintenance of HCMV DNA in retinal glia in a biologically active
form that is capable of replication after removal of the drug.
