Amyloidosis, immunocompetence, and the chronic murine diseases induced by reovirus Types 1 and 2

Reovirus antigen was detected by the immunofluorescence technique in most tissues, including lymphoid tissue, during the acute neonatal disease of mice infected with reovirus type 1 or 2. However, neither virus was isolated from mice with the chronic disease which followed the acute infection. A high incidence of amyloid was detected in various organs. This finding has been interpreted as indicative of immunological dysfunction, but these animals showed no evidence of immunological defectiveness as determined by their antibody responses to the infecting reovirus, and to injection of sheep and horse erythrocytes. Skin allografts on these mice were rejected within normal time limits. No evidence was found for the association of neoplasia with reovirus 1 or 2 chronic disease.