SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC OBSERVATION ON THE SURFACE OF CELLS INFECTED WITH VARICELLA-ZOSTER VIRUS
When varicella-zoster virus (VZV) was cultivated in human embryo fibroblast (HE) cells, a focus of rounded cells appeared and the cytopathic change developed radially, namely it was the characteristic of cytopathic effect (CPE) of VZV. Many particles were seen, ranging from 130 to 350 nm in dia- meter, attached to the surface of infected cells when observed in detail by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Furthermore, it was proved that these particles were herpes virions by section technic. And the result of application of immune adherence (IA) by SEM suggested these particles had specific antigen of VZV. With time, the number of virion appeared on VZV infected cells increased. This result seemed to suggest that these virions accumulated on the surface of the cells without releasing from the cells, and this evidence strongly suggested the characteristic of cell associate about VZV.
