Semi-permissive replication and functional aspects of the immune response in a cotton rat model of human parainfluenza virus type 3 infection.

A cotton rat (Sigmodon fulviventer) model of human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPIV-3) infection was used to study patterns of HPIV-3 replication in naive and immune hosts. Growth curves revealed that nasal and pulmonary tissues of naive animals were semi-permissive for virus replication, with amounts of progeny virus proportional to inoculating doses. In naive animals there was a total eclipse in nasal tissues beginning 4 h after inoculation. By contrast, there was only partial eclipse of virus in pulmonary tissues, most pronounced at 1 h after inoculation. Immune animals demonstrated a delayed eclipse in pulmonary tissues upon rechallenge. Infection with very low doses of HPIV-3 induced complete protection against high-dose challenge in the absence of systemic neutralizing antibody, suggesting a significant role for other systemic or local immune effectors.