Resistance to fatal central nervous system disease by mouse hepatitis virus, strain JHM. II. Adherent cell-mediated protection.

Resistance of SJL/J mice to intracranial inoculation with the JHM strain of mouse hepatitis, a coronavirus, is dependent upon the age of the animals at inoculation. Animals 12 weeks of age or older are resistant, whereas those 6 weeks or younger are uniformly susceptible to viral infection. Spleen cells or thioglycolate elicited peritoneal exudate cells can transfer resistance from 12-week-old to 6-week-old recipients. Removal of the adherent cells from either spleen or peritoneal cells ablated protection. Adherent cells from 12-week-old mice were protective even after depletion of Ia- and Thy-1-bearing cells. Antiviral antibody, thioglycolate injection into 6-week-old animals, and nylon wool-purified T cells were ineffective in mediating resistance. Adherent cells transferred 4 days before virus challenge, but not after challenge, were protective. Thus, there is an age-related change in SJL mice that protects from acute central nervous system disease, which may be due to maturation of a specialized adherent cell population.