[Effect of exogenous interferon on virus-specific immune cytolysis]

Virus-specified immune cytolysis has been shown in mouse cell cultures infected with vesicular stomatitis virus under the action of specific virus antibody and active complement. The exogenous mouse interferon failed to enhance the cellular plasmalemma permeability or to inhibit cellular adsorption of infectious and inactivated virus as well as the lysis of the cells in the presence of the antiviral serum and complement. The interferon localization was studied by the method of fluorescent antibodies. In vital preparations the exogenous species-specific interferon was revealed on the surface of most cells in the treated cultures; in the fixed preparations of the same cultures the interferon was found only in the form of small lumps in the cytoplasm of few cells. A decrease in immune cytolysis was observed in the cultures treated with the interferon 20-24 hours before the infection, that can be accounted for by the inhibitory action of the interferon on the viral replication and the reduction of the number of the virus-inducing antigens in the cellular plasmalemma.