Viral susceptibility of skin fibroblasts from patients with Huntington disease.

Cultured skin fibroblasts from patients with Huntington disease (HD) and age-matched controls were tested for susceptibility to vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and transformation by Kirsten mouse sarcoma virus (KiMSV). The HD and control cells could not be distinguished on the basis of viral replication, plaque morphology, virus yield, or susceptibility to transformation by KiMSV. These findings suggest that the HD gene product, if expressed within peripheral tissue, does not selectively alter or interfere with viral replication.