Inhibition of synchronized cellular deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis during Newcastle disease virus, mengovirus, or reovirus infection.

Cultures of L cells were synchronized with respect to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis with thymidine and 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FUdR) and infected with Newcastle disease virus (NDV), mengovirus, or reovirus 3. Inhibition of incorporation of (3)H-cytidine into the DNA of synchronized cells is partially inhibited 2 hr after infection with NDV or mengovirus and nearly completely suppressed 4 hr after infection. With NDV and mengovirus, no evidence was obtained of differences in sensitivity of cells during early S phase as compared to later stages in DNA synthesis. When cells were infected with reovirus at the time of release from FUdR block, inhibition of cellular DNA synthesis was evident at 2 to 3 hr, and it was complete at 4 to 5 hr after infection. However, when cells were infected several hours prerelease, synthesis of DNA occurred in early S phase in spite of the fact that the cells had been infected for up to 6 hr. The results indicate that DNA synthesis in early S phase is relatively insensitive to the inhibitory function of reovirus. Colorimetric determinations (diphenylamine reaction) of the amounts of DNA produced in synchronized cells have substantiated the inhibition of DNA synthesis observed by isotope incorporation techniques.