The Characterization of Varicella-zoster Virus DNA

Varicella-zoster (V-Z) virus was first isolated by Weller (1953) and has been classified as a group B cell-associated herpesvirus of man (Melnick et al. 1964). The cell-associated nature of the virus has made it difficult to obtain infectious virus from tissue culture and to prepare large quantities of virus particles for the characterization of the virion and its DNA. In this report we describe the successful purification of V-Z virus and define some of the properties of its DNA.

Two strains of V-Z virus were used in this study. Strain tc 182 was isolated from a child who had expired with generalized varicella (Benyesh-Melnick, Rosenberg & Watson, 1964), and strain ey was obtained from a patient with generalized herpes zoster infection (Rapp & Benyesh-Melnick, 1963). Both strains were propagated in human embryonic lung (HEL) fibroblasts as described previously (Rapp & Benyesh-Melnick, 1963). Intact infected cells were mixed with freshly trypsinized normal fibroblasts at a ratio of 1:10.