The role of leukocytes in the in vivo dissemination of cytomegalovirus was studied in this experiment. Rat cytomegalovirus (RCMV) could be transferred to rat granulocytes and monocytes by cocultivation with RCMV-infected fibroblasts in vitro. Intravenous injection of purified infected granulocytes or monocytes resulted in a systemic infection in rats, indicating that our model is a powerful tool to gain further insight into CMV dissemination and the development of new antivirals.
Department of Pharmacokinetics and Drug Delivery, Groningen University Institute for Drug Exploration, University Centre for Pharmacy, University of Groningen, 9713 AV Groningen, The Netherlands.
