Evidence for normal cell-mediated immunity in scrapie-infected mice.

Comparisons between mixed lymphocyte cultures of splenocytes from scrapie-infected and normal mouse brain-inoculated control mice did not reveal any evidence of an impaired cell-mediated immune response in scrapie-infected mice. Likewise, mixed lymphocyte cultures of splenocytes from scrapie-infected and normal mice demonstrated that infected spleen cells had no scrapie-specific antigens on their surfaces. These data suggested that the absence of a detectable scrapie-specific immune response in infected mice was the result of an absence of an exposed scrapie-specific antigen and not due to any direct effect on the immune system.