Primary human foreskin fibroblasts at passages 15-18, cultured in Eagles Minimal Essential Medium (MEM) supplemented with penicillin and 10% fetal calf serum (FCS). Confluent cells serum starved for 3 days with MEM containing 1% FCS. 85% of cells in G0/G1 cell cycle phase. Cells infected at a multiplicity of infection (m.o.i.) of 5 with human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) strain AD169 infectious particles (virions) for 90 min at 37°Celsius. mRNA isolated using a direct mRNA extraction kit. Keywords = human cytomegalovirus, AD169, virions, HCMV-infected foreskin fibroblasts