[Sensitivity of various cell populations of the mouse immune system to the tick-borne encephalitis virus].

The sensitivity of different cell populations in the immune system of mice to tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus has been studied in vitro. Using the method of infectious centers, the authors have shown that during the acute form of this infection the virus multiplies in different immunocompetent organs: the spleen, the thymus, the bone marrow. In the spleen the cells with the features of T-lymphocytes (possessing theta-antigen and not adhering to glass) and the cells with the features of macrophages (free of theta-antigen and adhering to glass) serve as targets for the infective agent. The multiplication of the virus is observed only in those immunocompetent cells which synthesize DNA (the cycloheximide test). The activation of the cells with phytohemagglutinin enhances their sensitivity to TBE virus.