Homologous recombination was performed by lipofectin-mediated co-transfection of the transferring plasmid pSC11-M and the WR strain vaccinia virus into 80% confluent TK -143 cells cultured in MEM medium containing 25 μg/ml BrdU (Sigma). The viruses were collected after the appearance of cytopathic effect (CPE), and recombinant vaccinia virus was purified according to the expression of LacZ gene.