Production of interleukin 3 by spleen cells in immunodeficient CS7BL/6 mice after injection of RadLV-Rs viral complex

Abstract Injection of RadLV-Rs viral complex to C57BL/6 mice results in massive enlargement of lymphoid organs. The polyclonal T and B populations which proliferate in spieen and lymph nodes display severely impaired immune functions. Several data suggest that development of this immunodeficiency syndrome is dependent on the presence of T cells whose functions are progressively altered. In contrast, the erythro-myeloid populations and the stem cell compartment are not deeply modified, suggesting that the production of the lymphokines involved in their regulation is not altered. Interleukin 3 (IL-3) is mainly involved in this regulation. Thus, the purpose of the present experiment was to evaluate the IL-3 production: in RadLV-Rs injected mice IL-3 production is decreased at the cellular level but if it is evaluated by taking into account the increase of spleen cellularity, it is initially decreased and later on, above the normal value.