Studies on the transcription of simian virus 40 and adenovirus type 2

Both adenovirus 2 and simian virus 40 interact with cultured cells in two different ways. On the one hand, there is a productive or lytic response in which the great majority of the cells yield progeny virus and die, and on the other there is an incomplete infection in which little or no virus is produced and the cells survive. Some of these surviving cells assume a new set of stable properties that closely resemble the properties of cells derived from tumors. These cells are said to be “transformed.” Which consequence virus infection produces is solely determined by the species of the host cell. Table I lists the cells that are commonly used in studies of lytic infection and transformation by adenovirus 2 and SV40.