AN EARLY, ABUNDANT CYTOTOXIC T-LYMPHOCYTE RESPONSE AGAINST THEILERS VIRUS IS CRITICAL FOR PREVENTING VIRAL PERSISTENCE

In genetically susceptible strains of mice, the DA strain of Theiler's virus, a picornavirus, causes a persistent infection of the white mat ter of the spinal cord associated with chronic demyelination, In resis tant strains, on the other hand, the infection is cleared within 1 to 2 weeks. In this article, we show that Theiler's virus induces a rapid and abundant cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response in resistant C57BL /6 mice, while the response remains low throughout infection in suscep tible SJL/J mice, This difference can be referred to a higher number o f virus-specific CTL precursors in C57BL/6 mice, These observations in dicate that the efficient induction of virus-specific CTL precursors i s critical for avoiding the establishment of a persistent picornaviral infection.