Dependence of herpes simplex virus type 1-induced cell fusion on cell type

Syncytial mutants of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), such as syn20, cause extensive fusion of human embryonic lung (HEL) cells but only a small amount of fusion of human epidermoid carcinoma No. 2 (HEp-2) cells. In order to determine the cellular basis of this difference in fusion, sparse cultures of syn20-infected HEL or HEp-2 cells, previously labeled with [³H]thymidine, were surrounded with uninfected, unlabeled HEL or HEp-2 cells. The fusion of radioactive with nonradioactive cells was determined at different times after infection using radioautography. syn20-infected HEL cells fused extensively with surrounding uninfected HEL or HEp-2 cells, while syn20-infected HEp-2 cells fused poorly with surrounding uninfected HEL or cells. Therefore, the major difference in the fusion capacity of HEL and HEp-2 cells was not due to a difference in cell-surface receptors for a fusion factor in the two cell types. The process of infection of HEp-2 cells did not cause the plasma membranes of the cells to become refractory to fusion, because syn20-infected HEL cells fused equally well with either uninfected or infected HEp-2 cells. The capacity for a mutant virus to express the syncytial phenotype in mixed infection with a wild-type virus is also dependent on cell type. In a mixed infection with equal numbers of MP and its nonsyncytial parent, mP, extensive fusion was observed for infected HEL cells and significantly less fusion was observed for infected African green monkey kidney (CV-1), baby hamster kidney (BHK-21), and HEp-2 cells.