Immunologic injury in measles virus infection: IV. Antigenic modulation and abrogation of lymphocyte lysis of virus-infected cells

Abstract

Antibodies to measles virus can modulate and thus remove measles virus antigens from the surfaces of infected cells in vitro. Measles virus antigens disappear rapidly from those cells' surfaces accompanied by a parallel reduction in the ability of immune lymphocytes to lyse the cells. Modulation of surface viral antigens is reversible; once measles virus antibodies are removed from culture medium, the surface viral antigens return, and the infected cells are again susceptible to lysis by immune lymphocytes. Like immune lymphocytes, antiviral antibodies and complement lysed the infected cells only when surface measles virus antigens were present. These observations may explain the persistence of virus in spite of a vigorous host antiviral immune response in certain chronic infections of man.