CYTOTOXIC THYMUS-DERIVED LYMPHOCYTES IN CEREBROSPINAL FLUID OF MICE WITH LYMPHOCYTIC CHORIOMENINGITIS

The fatal neurological disease occurring in adul t mice injected intracerebral ly (IC) with lymphocyt ic choriomeningit is (LCM) virus is apparen t ly induced by massive invasion of leukocytes (1, 2) into the central nervous system (CNS). Dosing with an t i thymocyte serum or cyclophosphamide (2, 3) prevents cellular infi l trat ion: mice survive as asymptomat ic carriers. Adopt ive induction of this inf lammatory process, by inject ing immune spleen cells into immunosuppressed recipients, depends on presence of specific thymus-der ived lymphocytes (T cells) in the transferred cell populat ion (4). Such lymphocytes can now be assayed in vi tro by measuring release of rad ioac t iv i ty from 51Cr-labeled target cells infected with L C M virus (5, 6). The present paper gives evidence tha t these cytotoxic T cells are found in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of mice with clinical LCM. This is, to our knowledge, the first direct demonstra t ion of specifically sensitized lymphocytes in a virus-induced inf lammatory exudate.