Experimental infection of Callithrix Jacchus marmosets with Herpesvirus ateles, Herpesvirus saimiri, and Epstein Barr virus.

We inoculated common marmosets (Callithrix Jacchus) with Herpesvirus ateles (HVA), Herpesvirus saimiri (HVS), and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). HVA-induced tumors contained several cell types, including giant cells reminiscent of the Sternberg-Reed cells observed in human Hodgkin's disease. HVS and EBV did not induce tumors, although HVS was present in lymphocytes and elicited a strong antibody response. EBV elicited only a variable antibody response. We feel that more common marmosets should be used to determine if the pathologic and immunologic lesions caused by HVA would be a suitable animal model for Hodgkin's disease and/or other malignant lymphomas of man. Inconsistency in the induction of tumors by EBV and HVS in common marmosets suggets that this species may be a different type of model for human cancer research than the cottontop marmoset, which is the most susceptible animal host for EBV and HVS oncogenesis.