Studies of Cell-mediated Immunity to Measles Virus by in Vitro Lymphocyte-mediated Cytotoxicity

Abstract

An in vitro lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity assay of cell-mediated immunity to measles virus is described that uses tissue culture lines persistently infected with measles virus. Morphologic and ⁵¹Cr-release methods were used to measure lymphocyte reactivity; they gave comparable results. Significant measles-specific cytotoxicity was observed only with lymphocytes from measles-seropositive individuals with prior histories of measles; no reactivity was demonstrable with lymphocytes from seronegative individuals and two seropositive adults with negative histories of measles. The capacity to measure measles-specific cell-mediated immunity may provide useful information in the normal host as well as an explanation for the abnormal reactivity of the host predisposed to subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.