Abstract
Summary
The present study was undertaken to determine whether interferon or an interferon inducer, polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (In·Cn) could modify the growth of T. gondii (RH and Beverley strain) in several different types of cell culture. Pretreatment of human WI38, conjunctiva, rabbit kidney or mouse L cells with In·Cn induced interferon within 24 hr in all but the L cells. Inhibition of toxoplasma multiplication occurred in all the treated cell types including the L cells, but the inhibition did not begin until 72 hr. These findings suggest a noninterferon mechanism for inhibition of toxoplasma by In·Cn. In other experiments a crude rabbit interferon preparation inhibited toxoplasma replication in rabbit kidney cells, but a similar mouse interferon preparation failed to inhibit toxoplasma multiplication in mouse L cells. In both cell types the interferon exerted a strong inhibitory effect on virus replication. Thus interferon preparations did not consistently inhibit T. gondii.
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