Respiratory syncytial virus may cause repeated infections and appreciable illness in adults as well as children. Factors associated with immunity and recovery are poorly understood. We studied 37 adults with natural respiratory syncytial viral illness and eight experimentally infected volunteers for nasal interferon production. Their response was compared to that of 25 adults with influenza. Interferon was detected in only six of those with natural respiratory syncytial virus and in none of those with experimental infection. The quantities of interferon were low (geometric mean, 6 U/mL) and did not appear to affect viral shedding. In contrast, 24 of influenza patients produced interferon and in greater quantities (geometric mean, 116 U/mL). This suggests that interferon is not involved in recovery from respiratory syncytial viral infection and might indicate a lack of a local cell-mediated response that could relate to the often prolonged course and shedding observed with respiratory syncytial virus.
The prophylactic and/or therapeutic effect of a low-molecular-weight interferon inducer, CP-20,961, was tested in a double-blind placebo controlled study of experimental influenza A/England/42/72 (H3N2) infection in normal volunteers. Ten volunteers received 961 and 10 received placebo. Interferon was detected in nasal secretions of nine of the former and three of the latter group (P < 0.05). Seven in each group became ill, and severity of illness was not different. Also, quantitative virus shedding patterns and antibody response were not different between the two groups. The negative result may have been due to the relatively low quantities of interferon induced.
An assay for virus-induced hemadsorption foci in cultures of human dermal fibroblasts is described. The assay allows determination of activity of species-specific as well as nonspecific antiviral agents or biological factors, such as interferons. The assay may be used for abortive (e.g., influenza virus) and productive (e.g., parainfluenza virus) infections of human fibroblasts.
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