CYTOPATHIC AGENTS ISOLATED FROM LESIONS OF MOLLUSCUM CONTAGIOSUM

[摘要] Six strains of virus cytopathic for human amnion cells have been isolated from lesions of molluscum contagiosum. Five of the strains were found to be similar in their serologic and cytopathic behavior. Two of them produced round or oval intracytoplasmic inclusion bodies in tissue culture but were not pathogenic for animals. The 6th strain (F) was recovered from a grossly and microscopically typical lesion of molluscum contagiosum but appeared to behave entirely differently than the others. It produced syncytial type of growth and multinucleated cells in human amnion and was pathogenic for newborn mice, guinea pigs, and rabbits. The exact nature of strain F could not be defined and it has been classified for the present as an orphan virus. It appears to have a high degree of dermatotropism producing exfoliation (mice), skin papules (guinea pigs), and patchy alopecia (rabbits). The causal relationship of 5 of the isolated viruses to molluscum contagiosum could not be established beyond a doubt but serologic studies suggest such an association. It is highly probably that strain F is not involved in the pathogenesis of this disease.