DOES THE GENDER DIFFERENCE IN INTERFERON-PRODUCTION SEEN IN PICORNAVIRUS-INFECTED SPLEEN-CELL CULTURES FROM ICR SWISS MICE HAVE ANY IN-VIVOSIGNIFICANCE

Splenocyte cultures from female ICR Swiss mice produced greater interf eron (IFN) levels, particularly IFN-gamma, than did cultures from male s by 12 h post-infection (pi) with the D variant of encephalomyocardit is virus (EMCV-D). This early IFN-gamma is produced by natural killer (NK)-like cells and is dependent on plastic adherent cells and IFN-alp ha/beta.((1,2)) In this study, we evaluated the significance of this o bservation on the innate resistance of ICR Swiss females to EMCV-D-med iated disease. Treatment of females with rabbit anti-mouse IFN-alpha/b eta serum rendered them susceptible to the diabetogenicity of EMCV-D. Although sera from both sexes of ICR Swiss mice exhibited peak IFN lev els day 3 pi, IFN-gamma was present in the sera of males at only 1 day pi and in the sera of females at days 1-3 pi. Females cleared virus f rom the circulation by day 2 pi, 1 day earlier than did males. Flow cy tometric evaluations of lymphoid cell phenotypes in spleens and pancre ata of infected mice revealed that percentages of L3T4(+) cells were s ignificantly decreased only in spleens from males at day 1 pi and were diminished along with Ly2(+) cells in pancreata of males at 7 days pi , suggesting that T-cell responses were impaired in virus-infected mal es.