Virulence characteristics of murine cytomegalovirus in cell and organ cultures

Abstract

Murine cytomegalovirus infection was studied in cell and organ cultures. Regardless of the virulence characteristics of input virus, all cultures produced attenuated murine cytomegalovirus. Virulent murine cytomegalovirus has been recovered only from salivary glands of infected mice. In vivo the maintenance of murine cytomegalovirus in a virulent state is apparently due to factors other than virus replication in epithelial cells.