Junin virus infection in genetically athymic mice

The progression of Junin virus infection was studied in congenitally athymic mice. Immunocompetent littermates were used as infected controls. As expected, the latter developed lethal encephalitis, with viremia and considerable viral replication in the brain. The mortality rate was almost 100%; the few surviving controls exhibited high serum neutralizing antibody levels and a total absence of virus in blood and brain. In contrast, nude mice did not contract the disease; all survived with persistent viremia and virus in brain, but no serum neutralizing antibodies were detected. These results confirm previous research on thymectomized mice and those treated with anti-lymphocyte serum and tend to support the important role of cellular immunity in the pathogenesis of this viral disease.