Interaction between 6/94 virus, a parainfluenza type 1 strain, and mouse macrophages.

The 6/94 virus, a type 1 parainfluenza virus recovered from multiple sclerosis brain cells after lysolecithin-induced fusion of these cells with African green monkey kidney cells (CV-1), has been found to grow in splenic and peritoneal macrophages obtained from outbred and different strains of inbred mice. Macrophages from C57BL animals were least susceptible to infection, a resistance apparently partially age related. The virus also has been found to replicate in IC21 cells, a line of simian virus 40 virus-transformed mouse macrophages. Viral growth was detected by development of hemadsorption in infected cells, followed by the appearance of infectious virus. The growth of 6/94 virus had different kinetics in mouse macrophages, in the standard continuous cell lines L, 3T3, and CV-1, and in primary mouse kidney and mouse embryo cells. The virus produced in macrophages could be passed in series to other macrophage cultures. In addition, once infected, the cultures continued to produce virus, and permanently infected cell lines were thus obtained. Macrophages from immunized mice with high titers of humoral neutralizing antibodies were found variably able to support virus growth.