Fine Specificity and Genetic Restriction of T Cell Clones Specific for Mouse Hepatitis Virus, Strain JHM

Mouse hepatitis viruses are members of the coronavirus group of animal viruses. Although named for their propensity to induce acute hepatitis in animals stressed by a variety of conditions, it has become clear that as a group they possess the ability to cause a diverse group of diseases in their natural host (Wege, et al, 1982). One strain of MHV, named JHM virus (JHMV), was isolated from mice found to have demyelinated lesions of the central nervous system (Bailey, et al, 1949). More recently it has been found that JHMV is not only capable of causing acute encephalomyelitis with demyelination but also chronic demyelination probably due to the establishment of a latent infection of oligodendroglia, the cells of myelin within the central nervous system (Herndon, et al, 1975; Stohlman and Weiner, 1981).