Immunological reaction of the demyelinating Semliki Forest virus with immune serum to glycolipids and its possible importance to central nervous system viral auto-immune disease.

The avirulent demyelinating strain A7(74) of Semliki Forest virus after passage through mouse brain in vivo and mouse brain cell cultures has been shown to react immunologically with immune sera against galactocerebroside, glucocerebroside, total ganglioside and GT1b ganglioside but not against myelin or sulphatide . Semliki Forest virus is known to take host membrane glycolipid into its coat. The importance of the findings is discussed in relation to the production of a possible anti-brain cell auto-immune phenomenon and its implication in a disease such as multiple sclerosis.