Pathogenesis of rotavirus infections.
Signs of clinical disease, viral antigen in infected intestines, and infectious virus excreted in feces were assessed in infant mice nursed by mothers with or without pre-existing rotavirus antibody. Less viral antigen in intestinal tissue was observed and was cleared earlier, and less infectious virus was excreted and disappeared earlier, in infants nursed by mothers with pre-existing antibody. Nevertheless, the course of diarrhea was the same in both groups. In another experiment, viral antigen was cleared earlier from the intestines of congenitally athymic (nude) infant mice given spleen cells from syngeneic immunocompetent adult mice than from nude mice not given spleen cells. It is suggested that passively transferred immunity contributes to resolution of rotavirus infection in mice once their intestinal epithelium has matured sufficiently.
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000209:etiology; D007116:Immunization, Passive; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D012400:Rotavirus Infections / Q000209:etiology* / Q000276:immunology
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral