Sarcomas after inoculation of newborn hamsters with Herpes virus hominis type 2 strains.

Abstract

An attempt was made to determine the possible tumorigencity of type 2 Herpes virus hominis (HVH) genital infection in newborn hamsters. Newborn hamsters were inoculated with virus doses greater than 10-3 TCD50 of types 1 or 2 HVH strains. It was found early that virus doses over 10-3 TCD/50 of either type 1 or type 2 HVH produced 95-99% mortality. With lesser virus doses which were then used for later experiments no appreciable difference in mortality was found between type 1 and type 2 strains; about 1/3 of the inoculated animals survived over 3 weeks. Approximately 3/4 of the hamsters receiving ultraviolet-inactivated viruses also survived 3 weeks after inoculation. The frequency of tumors observed was based on those animals surviving over 3 weeks after birth minus the number still under observation. On this basis the frequency of tumors observed was 2.3% in animals inoculated with HVH type 2 strains and 3.2% in hamsters receiving ultraviolet-inactivated type 2 strains. None of newborn hamsters inoculated with type 1 HVH strains developed tumors and 1 of 101 (1%) control animals developed a tumor. Regarding the tumors found after inoculation of HVH type 2 strains 4 tumors were associated with the MS type 2 virus 2 with ALA and 1 each with ELL and LOV. The tumor found in a hamster inoculated with ultraviolet-inactivated virus followed BEN type 2 strain inoculation. The tumors appeared at or close to the site of inoculation in all but 1 case; the 1 exception was an intraperitoneal tumor in an animal inoculated via the intrathoracic route. The tumors appeared from 5-28 months after inoculation. No clear-cut evidence of a relationship between HVH and the tumors by a variety of viological and serological assays has been obtained thus far.