Exacerbation of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia in immunodeficient (scid) mice by concurrent infection with a pneumovirus.
scid mice naturally infected with Pneumocystis carinii and inoculated with a normally apathogenic pneumovirus had significantly higher P. carinii cyst counts and developed significantly more severe P. carinii-related disease than did sham-inoculated, P. carinii-infected scid mice. P. carinii-free, virus-infected scid mice survived for 2 months despite high pulmonary virus titers. These results show that a respiratory virus infection can exacerbate P. carinii disease in an immunocompromised-rodent model.
Bray
M V
MV
Section of Comparative Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut 06510.
Barthold
S W
SW
Sidman
C L
CL
Roths
J
J
Smith
A L
AL
D000818:Animals; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D051379:Mice; D016513:Mice, SCID; D011020:Pneumonia, Pneumocystis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000150:complications*