Replication of Human Herpesvirus 6 in Epithelial Cells In Vitro

Abstract

Mink lung epithelial (NBL-7) cells were shown to be permissive for human herpesvirus 6 (HHV-6) by four independent methods of analysis: detection of infectious virus, viral antigens, viral DNA sequences, and herpesvirus particles. Infection was serially passaged, with minimal cytopathology, for several months demonstrating for the first time that a cell of epithelial origin can support HHV-6 replication.