Relationships between ceruloplasmin and viral immunity.

Experimental data are reviewed with reference to the role of ceruloplasmin as a nonspecific factor of viral immunity. Ceruloplasmin would act a) by an inhibition of virus multiplication, resulting in a "slow-motion" infection, which promotes immunization; b) by leading to the synthesis of a virus population rich in defective interfering particles, and c) by the direct modulation of the immune response.