The virus susceptibility of skin-derived fibroblasts from families with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

We have studied the growth of eight different viruses on skin fibroblasts from three families each having one or more diabetic members and appropriate controls. The haplotypes of all of the family members had been previously characterized. In addition, we have investigated the growth of mumps virus on the lymphoblast cultures from four families of the same type. Our results show no difference between the growth of these viruses in cells derived from juvenile diabetics and cells derived from nondiabetic siblings and parents even when the haplotypes were identical. However, we noted a striking resistance of human skin fibroblast cultures from both normal and diabetic individuals to Coxsackie B virus infection.