Abstract
Summary
A study was made to determine the relative capacity of germfree mice to respond to virus stimulation with interferon production in vivo. Germfree CFW mice responded to intravenously inoculated New-castle disease virus with a pattern of serum interferon production similar to that of conventional mice. Moreover, the baseline inhibitory activity of sera from unstimulated control germfree and conventional mice were the same. However, there was some indication that the spleen and liver interferon responses of germfree mice may be higher than those of conventional mice. It is suggested that such higher responses in germ-free mice might be due to higher storage levels of preformed interferon or of interferon precursors because of their comparatively “pristine” condition.
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