Ultrastructural and biological properties of a cytomegalovirus rescued from a human paraganglioma.

In a tissue culture isolate from a biopsy of a recurrent paraganglioma, lymphoblast-like cells were found growing in suspension from the first culture on. The suspension culture has now been growing continuously for 14 months. These cells occasionally contained cytoplasmic areas of anastomosing tubular structures showing continuity with endoplasmic reticulum. Cell-to-cell contact between these cells and WI-38 cells resulted in the appearance of a virus in the latter. This virus possesses the ultrastructural, biophysical, and immunological properties of a cytomegalovirus. The patient's