Effect of antithymocyte serum on herpesvirus hominis (type 1) infection in adult mice.

Rabbit antimouse thymocyte (RAMT) serum, a potent suppressant of cell-mediated immunity (1), has been shown to affect the course of several viral infections in mice (2). The effect of RAMT serum on herpesvirus hominis (HVH) infection was considered of particular interest since certain clinical conditions associated with defects in the thymus-dependent cellular immune system, such as the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (3) may develop severe, even fatal, HVH infections. It was also desirable to ascertain if the effect of RAMT serum would depend on the route of HVH inoculation, since this was an important factor in the case of primary vaccinia infection in mice (4).Materials and Methods. Virus strain. Earlier studies in adult mice demonstrated that neurovirulence of HVH strains depended on their antigenic type; HVH type 2 is more virulent than HVH type 1 whether inoculated intragenitally, intramuscularly, or intracerebrally (5, 6). Since all 28 HVH strains isolated from the brain or spinal fluid of patients, other...