B-cell-independent lymphoid tissue infection by a B-cell-tropic rhadinovirus.

Lymphocytes provide gammaherpesviruses with a self-renewing substrate for persistent infection and with transport to mucosal sites for host exit. Their role in the initial colonization of new hosts is less clear. Murid herpesvirus 4 (MuHV-4), an experimentally accessible, B-cell-tropic rhadinovirus (gamma-2 herpesvirus), persistently infects both immunocompetent and B-cell-deficient mice. A lack of B-cells did not compromise MuHV-4 entry into lymphoid tissue, which involved myeloid cell infection. However, it impaired infection amplification and MuHV-4 exit from lymphoid tissue, which involved myeloid to B-cell transfer.