ANTIVIRAL PROTECTION BY VESICULAR STOMATITIS VIRUS-SPECIFIC ANTIBODIES IN ALPHA BETA INTERFERON RECEPTOR-DEFICIENT MICE/

The role of innate, alpha/beta interferon (IFN-alpha/beta)-dependent p rotection versus specific antibody-mediated protection against vesicul ar stomatitis virus (VSV) was evaluated in IFN-alpha/beta receptor-def icient mice (IFN-alpha/beta R(0/0) mice). VSV is a close relative to r abies virus that causes neurological disease in mice. In contrast to n ormal mice, IFN-alpha/beta R(0/0) mice were highly susceptible to infe ction with VSV because of ubiquitous high viral replication. Adoptive transfer experiments showed that neutralizing antibodies against the g lycoprotein of VSV (VSV-G) protected these mice efficiently against sy stemic infection and against peripheral subcutaneous infection but pro tected only to a limited degree against intranasal infection with VSV. In contrast, VSV-specific T cells or antibodies specific for the nucl eoprotein of VSV (VSV-N) were unable to protect IFN-alpha/beta R(0/0) mice against VSV. These results demonstrate that mice are extremely se nsitive to VSV if IFN-alpha/beta is not functional and that under thes e conditions, neutralizing antibody responses mediate efficient protec tion, but apparently only against extraneuronal infection.