Antibody response in vitro to an animal virus: production of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies by mouse cells in culture.

Rabies virus neutralizing antibodies were produced in vitro by the exposure of mouse spleen cells to live and inactivated rabies virus suspensions and to sheep erythrocytes coated with rabies virus. These antibodies did not neutralize two other rhabdoviruses: Kern Canyon and vesicular stomatitis viruses, and were precipitable by treatment with an antiserum to mouse IgG. Removal of "glass-adhering" cells from mouse spleen cell suspensions abolished the antibody response, which could be restored by the addition of mouse peritoneal exudate cells, rich in macrophages.