Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1972 Jul;68(1):183-202.

Mouse cytomegalovirus. Necrosis of infected and morphologically normal submaxillary gland acinar cells during termination of chronic infection

D Henson, A J Strano

Mouse cytomegalovirus. Necrosis of infected and morphologically normal submaxillary gland acinar cells during termination of chronic infection

D Henson et al. Am J Pathol. 1972 Jul.

Abstract

The ultrastructural lesions in the submaxillary glands of C(3)H mice chronically infected with the murine cytomegalovirus are reported. Virus was synthesized in the nucleus of acinar glandular cells. After passage into the cytoplasm, virus was located in large vesicles which were derived from the Golgi apparatus. These vesicles, which were periodic acid-Schiff positive, migrated to the apex of the cell and released virus into the acinar lumen or canaliculi. Eventually, lymphocytes infiltrated the interstitium and surrounded the basal lamina of acini which contained infected cells. In acini encompassed by lymphocytes, both infected cells and morphologically normal acinar cells simultaneously degenerated, producing a small focus of necrosis. Physical contact between lymphocytes and necrotic cells did not occur for an intact basal lamina was always found interposed between them. Degeneration of infected cells coincided with a decrease in virus titer in the salivary glands. Degeneration of infected and normal acinar cells also occurred in DBA 2 mice which lack the fifth component of complement. In mice conditioned with cortisone to suppress inflammation, neither infected nor normal acinar cells degenerated. We concluded from the electron microscope observations that lymphocytes terminate chronic MCMV infection, that MCMV infection of acinar epithelium is not cytolytic and that normal cells also undergo necrosis during termination of chronic MCMV infection. It is postulated that lymphocytes in responding to infection release a cytotoxic substance which diffuses into the acini and causes indiscriminate necrosis of acinar cells.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Acta Paediatr. 1959 Mar;48(2):169-74 - PubMed
    1. J Immunol. 1970 Jun;104(6):1476-85 - PubMed
    1. Science. 1971 Jan 22;171(3968):298-300 - PubMed
    1. N Engl J Med. 1969 Sep 11;281(11):585-9 - PubMed
    1. Am J Pathol. 1970 Nov;61(2):117-40 - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources