02163nas a2200433   4500000000100000008004100001260001600042653002500058653001800083653002000101653001200121653002300133653001100156653000900167653003900176653000900215653002400224653002300248653002000271653002800291653001500319653005200334653001100386653001700397653002400414100001300438700001600451700001500467700001400482700001500496700001900511700001700530700002000547245008900567300001200656490000700668520104000675022001401715       1999                            d  c1999 Oct 1210aImmunohistochemistry10aBase Sequence10aAntigens, Viral10aAnimals10aImmunologic Memory10aKidney10aLung10aLymphocytic choriomeningitis virus10aMice10aMice, Inbred BALB C10aMice, Inbred C57BL10aModels, Genetic10aMolecular Sequence Data10aRNA, Viral10aReverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction10aSpleen10aTime Factors10aTissue Distribution1 aCiurea A1 aKlenerman P1 aHunziker L1 aHorvath E1 aOdermatt B1 aOchsenbein A F1 aHengartner H1 aZinkernagel R M00aPersistence of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus at very low levels in immune mice.  a11964-90 v963 a<p>Lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), strain WE, is a non-cytopathic RNA virus that is highly adapted to its natural host, the mouse. Acute infection of adult mice leads to generalized virus spread, followed by cytotoxic T lymphocyte-mediated virus clearance below the detection levels of conventional assays within 2-3 weeks. Indirect evidence had suggested that virus or viral antigen might persist in the immune mouse. Here we demonstrate LCMV-WE persistence at low levels after infection with 10(2) or 10(6) plaque-forming units, shown as viral genome, viral antigen, and replicative virus using sensitive in vitro and in vivo assays. The finding that LCMV-WE persists in the face of apparently intact immune responses resembles the situation in some viral (hepatitis B and C, HIV) and bacterial (tuberculosis, leprosy) infections in humans; the results are relevant to the understanding not only of other murine and human persistent viral infections but also of protective immunological memory by "infection immunity."</p>  a0027-8424