Abstract
Persistent viral carrier state in congenital rubella remains an enigma. Defective cellular immune mechanisms may play a role in this persistence. To investigate this possibility the response of leukocytes to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) was studied. 2 × 106 peripheral leukocytes were cultured in routine media. PHA was added to achieve a concentration of 0.025 ml/ml of media. Quadruplicate cultures were incubated at 37° C for 72 h and treated with C14 labeled thymidine for 5 h prior to termination. Cellular response was estimated by measuring the cellular content of C14 in a standard liquid scintillation system. A decreased PHA responsiveness of leukocytes was demonstrated in 8 of 14 congenital rubella patients studied, despite evidence in these patients of normal delayed hypersensitivity. PHA response returned to normal later in the course of each patient. To test whether this lack of responsiveness is due to an intrinsic defect in lymphoid cells from these patients or to direct effects of rubella virus, a normal adult's leukocytes were cultured with rubella virus. PHA response was dramatically reduced in every experiment; this effect could be eliminated by pretreatment of the virus preparation with rubella neutralizing antibody. Inhibition was also produced when Newcastle disease virus was substituted for rubella virus. These studies indicate that leukocytes from some congenital rubella patients show a defective response to PHA. The defective response can be reproduced in normal leukocytes by the addition of rubella virus or Newcastle disease virus in vitro. The prolonged persistence of virus and the defective reactivity to PHA in babies with congenital rubella may be interrelated. (SPR)
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Montgomery, J., South, M., Rawls, W. et al. 32 Defective Lymphocyte Response to PHA in Congenital Rubella. Pediatr Res 1, 208 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-196705000-00039
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-196705000-00039