Immunological assessment of mice with chronic jaundice and runting induced by reovirus 3.

Following acute neonatal infection with reovirus 3 in mice of Prince Henry, Balb/c and C57B1 strains, 8·7% of mice surviving to 22 days developed a syndrome of chronic jaundice and runting. In 1·6% the syndrome persisted beyond 60 days, enabling the immunological status of mice suffering from the persisting chronic syndrome to be assessed. Immune responses, both humoral and cell mediated, were either normal or enhanced. Serum immunoglobulin levels were raised. Anti-smooth muscle antibody was commonly found beyond 100 days of age and there was a low titre of haemagglutinating autoantibody; however, no evidence to suggest an initiating autoaggressive pathogenesis of the syndrome was found. The syndrome closely resembles active chronic hepatitis in man. The initial acute infection with reovirus 3 is essential for the production of the persisting chronic disease, but neither infectious virus nor viral antigen could be detected at this stage.