Production of macrophage migration inhibition factors by virus-infected cell cultures

Macrophage migration inhibitory (MIF-like) activity was demonstrated in the supernatant fluids from cultures of African green monkey kidney cells (BGM) infected with mumps virus or Newcastle disease virus. We could detect no such activity in noninfected cultures. The virus-induced activity reported here is not due to nonspecific cytotoxic material released by dead or dying cells, and it does not require cell replication for its production. Preliminary estimates of molecular weight by Sephadex G-100 chromatography revealed a broad band of activity associated with the 45,000 and 65,000 markers. These are significantly smaller than previously reported chemotactic substances from virus-infected cultures, and thus appear to represent different cell products. These MIF-like factors may be produced concomitantly with interferon. However, ultraviolet irradiation of appropriate duration abolishes the ability of viruses to induce substances with MIF-like activity while preserving the ability to induce interferon. This strongly suggests that interferon is not the agent responsible for the macrophage migration inhibition effect. The functional properties of these various cell products induced by virus infection suggest that they all may play a role in the response to virus infection in vivo.