Abstract
The purpose of these studies was to develop an in vitro method for the demonstration of delayed hypersensitivity to measles virus. Using cell lines chronically infected with measles virus, a lymphocyte-target cell interaction was studied, using morphology or Cr51 release as an end point. Preliminary morphologic studies employing control and chronically infected HeLa cells indicated a greater cytotoxic effect with lymphocytes from children previously immunized with live measles vaccine than in unimmunized controls. All subsequent studies employed two human fibroblast lines, one infected (WI-M1) and one normal (WI-38). The WI-Ml carries measles antigen at the cell surface in steady state replication. Modifying the cytotoxic method of Holm and Perlmann, lymphocytes purified by glass bead adsorption were added to Cr51 labelled target cells in a ratio of 100:1. The release of Cr51 in excess of background was interpreted as a measure of lymphocytotoxic factor. The percentage release of Cr51 from WI-M1-38 and WI-38 cells was determined in a group of 8 seropositive adults with no history of clinical measles. The results showed that lymphocytes from the adults with measles effected as much as a 13% increase in Cr51 release from WI-M1 as compared to WI-38 cells. The lymphocytes from the two individuals with negative histories showed a much diminished release. These results indicate that the measurement of lymphocytotoxic response may be a useful in vitro method for studying delayed hypersensitivity to measles virus.
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Labowskie, R., Edelman, R., Biundo, M. et al. A new test of delayed hypersensitivity to measles virus in vitro. Pediatr Res 5, 380–381 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197108000-00041
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-197108000-00041