INTERFERON-GAMMA IS INVOLVED IN THE RECOVERY OF ATHYMIC NUDE-MICE FROM RECOMBINANT VACCINIA VIRUS INTERLEUKIN-2 INFECTION

Athymic nude mice recover from an infection with recombinant vaccinia virus (VV) encoding murine interleukin 2 (IL-2), but treatment with a mAb to IL-2 accentuated infection. Administration ofa mAb against interferon γ(IFN-γ) to mice infected with the IL-2-encoding virus completely prevented the IL-2-induced mechanisms of recovery. Both asialo-GM1+ (NK) and asialo-GM1(non-NK) cells were participants in the IFN-γ-mediated recovery of nude mice from infection with the IL-2-encoding VV recombinant. Depletion of asialo-GM1+ cells exacerbated infection, though not as much as anti-IFN-γ mAb. In vitro, both asialo-GM1+ and asialo-GM1− nude mouse splenocytes produced IFN-γ in response to IL-2. © 1990, Rockefeller University Press., All rights reserved.