Involvement of cells of hematopoietic origin in genetically determined resistance of Syrian hamsters to vesicular stomatitis virus.

Susceptibility of Syrian hamsters of the inbred LSH and MHA strains to injection of as few as 10 plaque-forming units of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) was shown to occur only after intraperitoneal and intrapleural injection and not after injection of VSV intravenously, intranasally, or in the footpads. Despite the fact that fewer LSH hamsters died when VSV was injected via the latter routes, the histopathology of the VSV-induced disease at early times after infection was identical irrespective of the route of virus administration. Histological examination of tissues at various times after administration of VSV by the various routes revealed that VSV exhibited tropism for lymphoreticular tissue, with the greatest amount of necrosis in the splenic periarteriolar lymphoid sheath. A similar pattern also was observed in VSV-infected tissues from genetically resistant UT1 hamsters. Infectivity titrations of various tissues at different times after intraperitoneal injection of VSV revealed that resistant UT1 hamsters began to clear virus from tissues between 40 and 48 h postinfection, whereas virus titers remained high in susceptible animals. Resistance of UT1 hamsters appeared to require an intact spleen since survival of splenectomized animals was less than that of sham-splenectomized UT1 controls. Sublethal whole-body irradiation was also able to reduce resistance of UT1 hamsters (survival was reduced from 100 to 50%). Bone marrow cells from resistant (UT1 X LSH) F1 females were transferred into lethally irradiated susceptible LSH hamsters, and hematopoietic chimeras were produced. After intraperitoneal injection of 100 plaque-forming units of VSV, all of the female chimeras survived, but only 33% of male chimeras survived. These data indicate that resistance to VSV in Syrian hamsters is mediated, at least partially, by cells of hematopoietic origin.