Presence of cytomegalovirus in brown fat. Study in a rat model.

Cytomegalovirus infection of laboratory rats resulted in the appearance of virus and viral antigens in interscapular and periaortic brown fat. This appearance was limited to acute infection (first week post-infection) and was dependent on the route of inoculation. In our study virus could only be detected in subcutaneous brown fat in young rats (till 4 weeks of age), whereas in the deep brown fat (periaortic region) no age dependency was found.