During permissive infection, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) increases the activities of certain cellular enzymes. In this report, we show that induction of these cellular genes occurs at the level of RNA. The abundance of several additional growth-regulated cellular transcripts in HCMV-infected human foreskin fibroblasts (HFF) was also compared to that in serum-stimulated HFF cells. HCMV infection of HFF cells resulted in increased abundance of ornithine decarboxylase, thymidine kinase, heat-shock protein 70 (hsp70), and brain creatine kinase transcripts. In contrast to serum treatment, infection with HCMV did not result in dramatic increases in c-myc, beta-actin, or metallothionein IIA RNA. The induction of hsp70 RNA occurred during the earliest stage of HCMV infection of HFF cells, preceding its induction in serum-stimulated HFF cells by several hours. Thus, a role for the earliest events in HCMV infection in the induction of hsp70 RNA is suggested.