Abstract

Dengue virus replication in infected mosquito and VERO cell cultures was analyzed using conventional electrón microscopy, immunoelectron microscopy and in situ hybridization at the ultrastructural level. Special attention was given to the structure of the viral replication complex within the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The viral replication complex is composed of vesicles and tubules of the smooth membrane structures together with viral proteins and nucleic acids that assemble between these structures. The majority of the resulting virus particles remain enclosed inside cisterns derived from the rough endoplasmic reticulum; only a few virus particles are transferred to the Golgi system for maturation and delivery from the cell by exocytosis.