FIG. 8.
Protection against viral invasion of the CNS. Adoptive reconstitution with primed or naïve lymphocytes was tested as a means of preventing dissemination of CMV to the CNS in immunosuppressed mice. Mice were given either naïve (AT naïve) or CMV-immune (AT CMV) splenocytes on day zero and inoculated with 4.4 × 105 PFU CMV intravenously the following day. Brains were harvested at 28 days following reconstitution, and viral DNA was quantified using real-time PCR. Both naïve and CMV-primed splenocytes were effective at limiting the spread of virus to the brain. No virus was recovered from either reconstituted group, compared to 3.2 × 102 PFU/g in the SCID control group (not graphed). A) Relative fold increase in MCMV levels in the brain, group means. B) Individual MCMV DNA levels in mice.*, P ≤ 0.001; n, number of mice per group.