Studies on the Susceptibility of C57BL/6 Mice to Rauscher Virus. III. Kinetics of Humoral Antibody Response to Cell-Surface Antigens in Neonatally Inoculated Mice

Summary

Studies were conducted to see whether Rauscher leukemia virus infection in C57BL/6 mice can alter immunologic response against cell-surface antigens of Rauscher leukemia. The level of antibody titers against cell-surface antigens in the sera collected from C57BL/6 mice infected as weanlings or adults with Rauscher leukemia virus was higher than that of the natural antibody titers in normal mice. However, most titers in the sera of mice neonatally infected with the virus were generally lower than those of the natural antibody. Fluctuation patterns of the antibody titers in the mice neonatally infected with Rauscher virus were classified into 4 types: 1) runt and leukemia, 2) leukemia, 3) normal, and 4) immunized. Most leukemias developed in the mice having antibody titer patterns of the runt and leukemia type or leukemia type, both of which presented with titers lower than those of natural antibody in normal mice. No mouse neonatally infected with Rauscher virus had specific immunologic tolerance to Gross and Friend-Moloney-Rauscher antigens. Some possible functions of humoral antibody to cell-surface antigens were discussed to explain the mechanisms of immune suppression by murine leukemia virus infection.