Replication of varicella-zoster virus in human skin organ culture.
Taylor SL, Moffat JF
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA.
Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) infection is restricted to humans, which hinders studies of its pathogenesis in rodent models of disease. To facilitate the study of VZV skin tropism, we developed an ex vivo system using human fetal skin organ culture (SOC). VZV replication was analyzed by plaque assay, transmission electron microscopy, and histology. The yield of infectious VZV from SOC increased approximately 100-fold over 6 days, virions were abundant, and lesions developed that contained VZV antigens and resembled varicella and zoster lesions. The SOC system for VZV replication has applications for testing virus mutants and antiviral drugs.
Published 16 August 2005 in J Virol, 79(17): 11501-6.
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