INDUCTION OF MURINE ACQUIRED-IMMUNODEFICIENCY-SYNDROME (MAIDS) IN ALLOPHENIC MICE GENERATED FROM STRAINS SUSCEPTIBLE AND RESISTANT TO DISEASE

To examine whether a retroviral disease can be controlled in animals i n which cells from a resistant strain coexist in a state of immunologi cal tolerance with cells from a susceptible strain, allophenic mice we re constructed and infected with LP-BM5 murine leukemia viruses which induce a fatal disorder, termed murine acquired immunodeficiency syndr ome (MAIDS), characterized by lymphoproliferation and immunodeficiency in susceptible inbred strains of mice. We found that in two different strain combinations, resistance to MAIDS was contingent on the presen ce in individual animals of >50% of lymphocytes of resistant strain or igin and correlated with reduction or elimination of retrovirus. In co ntrast, animals harboring substantial, but less than predominant, numb ers of genetically resistant lymphocytes developed disease and died wi thin the same time frame as susceptible control mice with uncontained proliferation of retrovirus.