Fine Structure of Cellular Inclusions in Measles Virus Infections

Abstract

Cells which are infected with measles virus have been known for some time to contain inclusion material that is distinguishable from normal cellular components by application of traditional staining methods and observation in the light microscope. The fine structure of the inclusion material contained in HeLa cells infected with Edmonston strain of measles virus has been examined in the electron microscope. Two steps have been found necessary in this study: (1) the recognition by phase-contrast microscopy of the living cell of bodies that are defined as inclusion material when the cells are classically stained; and (2) the recognition in the electron microscope of inclusion-body material that had previously been identified in the living cell.The fine structure of the nuclear and cytoplasmic inclusion material in osmiumtreated cells was found to consist mainly of randomly arrayed filaments of low electron density. Dense, highly ordered arrays of filaments were found near the center of the nuclear inclusions, sometimes as a two-dimensional, nearly orthogonal arrangement. If the size of the measles virus is taken to be around 100 m/z in diameter, the strands seen in the inclusions cannot be fully formed virus.

Electron Microscopy of Measles Virus Replication

“…Electron micrographs of tissues infected with measles virus have shown many fibrous filaments VI~w hich occur in both the cytoplasmic and intranuclear inclusion bodies (2,8,10,(13)(14)(15)(16). In our study, inclusion bodies with filamentous fibers were observed in the cytoplasm of HeLa cells 18 to 20 hr after infection with measles virus.…”

“…In 1954, Enders and Peebles originally described the appearance of cytoplasmic and intranuclear inclusion bodies in cells infected in vitro with measles virus (6). Kaliman et al (8) and Tawara et al (16) described the filamentous nature of the intranuclear and cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in the measles-infected HeLa cells. These filamentous fibers appeared to be tubular structures of about 15 to 20 nm in outer diameter; they seemed to occur randomly at the early stage of cellular infection and to aggregate to crystalline arrangement in the later stage (14, 15).…”

Lattice Arrangement of Nucleocapsids in the Cytoplasm of HeLa Cells Persistently Infected with Hemadsorption Type 2 Virus (HeLa/HA2)

“…As shown in Figs. la and 1b, a mass of tubular structures with a diameter of 120 to 1 30 A is seen in a location of the cyto plasm which exactly coincided with the location of the inclusion body optically de tectable by Kallman's method [5]. These structures run parallel with one another and a cross section reveals a regular ar rangement in lattice form.…”

Fine structure of nuclei and cytoplasm of osteoclasts in Paget's disease of bone

“…The interpretation of the actual nature of these structures is still a matter of speculation, but a viral organism is strongly favoured. The size of the filamentous formations, their fine structure, and their clustering in nuclei, all closely resemble the nuclear changes seen in cells infected in vitro by measles virus (Kallman et al 1959) and in neural cells infected by the virus of subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) both in uitro (Raine et al 1974b) (Raine et al 1974a). Similar filaments were reported in muscular cells in a case of chronic polymyositis, so that a myxovirus aetiology was suggested for this disease (Chou Shi-Ming 1967,1968.…”