TRANSIENT IMMUNOSUPPRESSIVE EFFECT INDUCED IN RABBITS AND MICE BY THEHUMAN SPUMARETROVIRUS PROTOTYPE HFV (HUMAN FOAMY VIRUS)

Spumaviruses (foamy viruses) constitute one of the three retroviral ge nera isolated from man. Although spumaviruses have not been clearly li nked to a given pathology in humans and other infected species, it is well established that they lead in vivo to chronic infections without detectable viral expression. We thought it of interest to investigate certain aspects of the pathology induced in laboratory animals by huma n foamy virus (HFV). In this work, we demonstrate that HFV infection o f rabbits and mice gives rise to a transient immunosuppressive effect, as evaluated in vitro by lymphocyte transformation tests. This phenom enon occurs shortly after viral inoculation, at around 4-5 days, and r egresses within thirty days.