Brain inflammatory exudate in Junin virus-infected rats: its characterization by the immunoperoxidase (PAP) technique

Morphologic changes in cyclophosphamide (CY)-suppressed vs. control non-suppressed new-born rats infected i.c. with XJC13 strain of Junin virus were compared and the cells involved in CNS lesions were identified by the PAP technique. Fifty per cent of the control rats exhibited widespread cerebral necrosis vs. only 15% of the immunosuppressed animals. The first cells to reach Junin virus-infected CNS in controls were T lymphocytes, which destroyed viral antigen-laden target neurons and astrocytes. B lymphocytes and macrophages, presumably attracted by viral antigen and/or by lymphokines, made their appearance a day or two later. Activated macrophages phagocytosed necrotic cells and perhaps exerted a cytotoxic effect upon target neural cells, whereas the actual role of B lymphocytes requires further explanation. In CY-treated rats, cerebral lesions were smaller and the cellular exudate, though similar, proved much scantier than in controls. A similar extent of cerebellar necrosis was observed in both groups.