Syncytium formation of human and non-human cells by recombinant vaccinia viruses carrying the HIV env gene and human CD4 gene.

We examined the ability of the various human and non-human cell lines to form syncytia upon coinfection with recombinant vaccinia viruses each carrying the HIV env and the human CD4 gene. We found that three human cell lines and one of three monkey cell lines exhibited syncytium formation, but that one human cell line, two monkey cell lines and all the rabbit and mouse cell lines examined did not. This indicated that factors other than HIV env and CD4 were participating in syncytium formation and that distribution of these factors was restricted by species and by the cell type in a species.