Interferon Production by Inactivated Newcastle Disease Virus in Cell Cultures and in Mice

Abstract

A comparison was made of the effects of ultraviolet (UV) irradiation or heating at 56 C on the interferon-stimulating capacity of Newcastle disease virus in primary chick embryo fibroblast (CE) cultures, in L-cell cultures, and in the intact mouse. The data obtained indicated the critical importance of the host cell system used for interferon production. Virus inactivated by UV irradiation, as well as infective virus, was an effective stimulus of interferon production in L cells and in mice, and this property persisted on continued irradiation. In contrast, in CE cell cultures, infective virus produced no interferon, whereas UV-irradiated virus produced maximal interferon titers when all infectivity was destroyed; continued irradiation resulted in a rapid loss of the interferon-stimulating capacity of the virus. Virus inactivated at 56 C did not produce interferon in CE or L-cell cultures.In the intact mouse, on the other hand, heat-inactivated virus was capable of stimulating the release of significant levels of circulating interferon.