Immune response to acute virus infection in the Syrian hamster. II. Studies on the identity of virus-induced cytotoxic effector cells.

The identity of the effector cell(s) mediating vaccinia virus-induced cytotoxic activity in Syrian hamsters undergoing acute virus infection has been investigated. Two different approaches have been utilized in this regard. Although T cells do not mediate vaccinia virus-induced cytotoxic activity directly, studies employing adult thymectomized, x-irradiated, bone-marrow-reconstituted hamsters lacking discernible T cell reactivity demonstrated that the presence of an intact thymus and/or functional T cells were required for the in vivo development of a significant portion of vaccinia virus-induced cytotoxic activity. In addition, incorporation of aggregated gamma-globulins as well as anti-immunoglobulin reagents into the in vitro 51Cr release assay inhibited a significant proportion of the cytotoxic activity mediated by spleen cells obtained from acutely infected hamsters possessing an intact thymus. Both approaches have yielded information consistent with the idea that a sizable portion of vaccinia virus-induced cytotoxic activity in the Syrian hamster is effected by K cells mediating antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC). The significance of this observation is discussed with regard to hamster viral immunity in general.