Plague Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Plague, including details on bubonic plague, yersinia pestis, infection, types, treatment.

Inhibition of host peripheral blood mononuclear cell proliferation ex vivo by Rinderpest virus.

Heaney J, Cosby SL, Barrett T

The Queens University of Belfast, Microbiology, Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast BT12 6BN, UK.

Rinderpest, or cattle plague, is caused by Rinderpest virus (RPV), which is related most closely to human Measles virus (MV), both being members of the genus Morbillivirus, a group of viruses known to have strong immunosuppressive effects in vitro and in vivo. Here, it was shown that peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from cattle experimentally infected with either wild-type or vaccine strains of RPV impaired the proliferation of PBMCs derived from uninfected animals; however, in contrast to either mild or virulent strains of wild-type virus, the inhibition induced by the vaccine was both weak and transient. Flow-cytometric analysis of PBMCs obtained from cattle infected with different strains of RPV showed that the proportion of infected cells was virus dose-dependent and correlated with lymphoproliferative suppression.

Published 21 November 2005 in J Gen Virol, 86: 3349-55.
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