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Six commonly used strains of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) Armstrong (Arm) CA 1371, Arm E-350, WE, UBC, Traub and Pasteur C1PV 76001 were examined for distinctive genetic and biological properties. Agarose gel electrophoresis yielded no detectable differences among the L or S RNAs of these six strains. The RNase T1 fingerprint patterns of LCMV Arm CA 1371 and E-350 RNAs were similar, but in contrast, those of the WE, UBC, Traub and Pasteur strains differed from each other and from the pattern of LCMV Arm CA 1371 and E-350. There were also differences among LCMV strains in their biological properties. LCMV Arm CA 1371, E-350 and Pasteur caused severe vasculitis and focal necrotizing hepatitis in the livers of neonatally infected BALB/WEHI mice in contrast to LCMV WE which caused minimal lesions. LCMV Arm CA 1371 and E-350 were lethal for neonatal C3H/St mice. In contrast, LCMV WE, Traub and Pasteur induced persistent infections in C3H/St mice. Adult guinea-pigs resisted infection by Arm CA 1371, E-350, Traub and Pasteur but succumbed to WE and UBC LCMV strains. Our results show a wide variation in the RNA genomes of LCMV strains commonly used in research laboratories, and these genomic differences are accompanied by variations in the biological properties of LCMV strains.
Dutko et al. (Mon,) studied this question.