title: Therapy of a fatal murine cytomegalovirus infection with thymic humoral factor (THF-gamma 2) treated immune spleen cells.
abstract: Infection of mice with murine cytomegalovirus (CMV) presents a model for the study of the role of the immune system in the pathogenesis of human CMV. We performed adoptive transfer experiments to evaluate the prospects for enhancing the anti-viral potential of murine CMV immune spleen cells by THF-gamma 2. Adult BALB/c mice resistant to murine CMV become highly susceptible following immunosuppression by cyclophosphamide. Recipient mice were injected with murine CMV and cyclophosphamide concomitantly, and 24 h later adoptive transfers of syngeneic immune spleen cells were performed. We showed that passive transfers of murine CMV immune spleen cells prevented the development of a fatal disease in 38% of the recipient mice. Daily injections of murine CMV immune donor mice with THF-gamma 2 enhanced considerably (93%) the therapeutic potential of virus-specific immune cells. These experiments provide direct evidence for the antiviral capacity of THF-gamma 2 through its immunomodulatory effect on immune T cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rager-Zisman
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zuckerman
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Benharroch
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pecht
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Burstein
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Trainin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008808:Mice, Inbred CBA; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology*; D013951:Thymus Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D013951:Thymus Hormones; C014859:thymic humoral factor; D003520:Cyclophosphamide