Interferon Production in Hamsters Experimentally Infected with Rabies Virus.

Abstract

Summary The induction of interferon by rabies virus was studied in order to establish the status of this virus as an inducer of interferon in the cells it infects. Previous investigators, using in vitro systems, have been unable to demonstrate interferon production from cells infected with rabies virus, and this has caused some confusion among researchers working on rabies. However, using an in vivo system, we were able to isolate and characterize rabies induced interferon from several tissues. The brain, in which the virus reached its highest titer, also contained the largest amount of interferon, with the other levels of interferon corresponding to the centrifugal spread of rabies virus from the brain to the organs.