Junin virus-induced delayed-type hypersensitivity suppression in adult mice

Junin virus (JV) infection of suckling mice leads to lethal meningoencephalitis consistent with a delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH)-like immune response. In contrast, there are no central nervous system (CNS) alterations, and high antibody titers are induced in resistant adult mice. As a possible explanation, JV infection in adult mice may provoke DTH depression. Thus in this work we study the alterations induced by JV in the immune response of adult mice by using sheep red blood cells (SRBC) as an unrelated indicator antigen. JV infection was found to abrogate DTH significantly, regardless of SRBC priming time, virus strain attenuation, and viral route of inoculation. The effect proved viral dose-dependent and required live and infectious virus. However, the humoral response to SRBC, as determined by splenic "plaque-forming cell" count was found higher than controls. These results are consistent with adult mouse response to JV infection. In contrast to the guinea pig model, there is no destruction of immunocompetent cells. T-cell percentage in the spleen was high, suggesting involvement with DTH-suppressive action. We suggest that the immune response to SRBC in adult infected mice may be used for understanding the mechanisms involved in resistance.