Kinetics of the development of protective immunity in mice vaccinated with a live attenuated retrovirus.
Vaccination of mice with a live attenuated vaccine virus induces potent protection against subsequent challenge with pathogenic Friend retroviral complex. The kinetic studies presented here demonstrate protection from acute splenomegaly as early as 1 week postvaccination. At this time point virus-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) were demonstrable in direct chromium release assays. However, during the first 2 weeks after vaccination protection was incomplete since the mice were not protected against establishment of low-level persistent infections in the spleen. By 3 weeks postvaccination the animals were protected against the establishment of persistent virus as well as acute splenomegaly. The timing of this complete protection correlated with the presence of both virus-neutralizing antibodies and primed CTL in the immunized mice. Within 3 days of virus challenge, vaccinated mice showed high levels of activated B cells and CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells, indicating an efficient priming of all lymphocyte subsets. Despite very limited replication of the vaccine virus, the protective effect was long lived and was still present 6 months after immunization.
Dittmer
U
U
Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA.
Race
B
B
Hasenkrug
K J
KJ
D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D007109:Immunity; D051379:Mice; D012190:Retroviridae / Q000276:immunology*; D012192:Retroviridae Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D013602:T-Lymphocytes, Cytotoxic / Q000276:immunology; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology*
D014765:Viral Vaccines