[Resistance of mice with active and maternally passive immunity against Sendai virus]

Resistance of mice with active and maternally passive immunity to Sendai virus infection was investigated. Mice with active immunization were convalescent ones from intranasal infection with 10(3) TCID50 of the virus [CT], ones immunized with 4 weekly intranasal injections of about 4 X 10(3) hemagglutinating units (HAU) of formalin-inactivated virus (FV) [IN], or ones immunized with 4 weekly intraperitoneal injections of about 2 X 10(3) HAU of FV [IP]. The serum neutralizing (NT) antibody titers ranged 1 : 10 to 1 : 20 in CT and IN, and 1 : 20 to 1 : 40 in IP at 4 weeks after initial immunization. NT antibody in the lung lavage was detected only in IP in 3/5. After intranasal challenge infection with 10(6) TCID50 of the virus, little or no gross lung lesion, no virus recovery and no body weight loss were observed throughout experiment, in these 3 immunized groups, whereas, control mice showed lung lesions in 4/5 (7 days), virus recovery in 4/5 at 3 days and in 1/5 at 7 days post-challenge, and body weight loss. In additional histological study, bronchiolar epithelial methaplasia and alveolar septal thickening, which were characteristic findings in non-immunized infected mice, were not observed in mice immunized with 2 biweekly injection of about 250 HA of FV and then challenged. Maternal immunity was investigated in offsprings from convalescent dams infected with 10(3) TCID50 at mating [mCT] and from dams immunized intraperitoneally with 4 X 10(3) HAU of FV at 0, 1 and 2 weeks after mating and, 1 and 2 weeks after parturition [mIP]. Serum NT antibody was not detected in mCT, but the titers ranging 1 : 20 to 1 : 40 were detected in mIP. After intranasal challenge of mCT, mIP and offsprings from non-immune mice with 10(3) TCID50 of the virus, virus recovery on day 3 was 2/4, 1/4 and 3/3, and incidence of total lung lesions on day 7 and 12 was 11/21, 2/13 and 16/16, respectively. Body weight gain was suppressed slightly in the immune groups but markedly in the non-immune control.