In vitro and in vivo interferon production in NOD mice

The production of interferon-alpha/beta (INF-alpha/beta) and interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) in NOD and ICR mice was studied in vitro and in vivo. The in vitro IFN-alpha/beta production in the spleen cells of NOD mice, which were stimulated with either Newcastle disease virus (NDV), Sendai virus, poly(I:C) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), was very similar to the IFN-alpha/beta production in the spleen cells of ICR mice. Contrastingly, the in vitro IFN-gamma production in the spleen cells of NOD mice, which were stimulated with either concanavalin A (Con A), phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or pokeweed mitogen (PWM), was greater than the IFN-gamma production in spleen cells of ICR mice. The in vivo IFN-alpha/beta production in NOD mice induced by NDV was also very similar to that in ICR mice, whereas the in vivo IFN-gamma production in the BCG-sensitized NOD mice, which was induced by purified protein derivative (PPD), was greater than that in the ICR mice. These results may indicate that NOD mice have abnormalities on the IFN-gamma production.