Assessment of cell-mediated immunity against coxsackievirus B3-induced myocarditis in a primate model (Papio papio)

Delayed hypersensitivity and myocarditis were induced in five baboons (Papio papio) after inoculation with myocarditic murine coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3(m)). By means of the [³H]thymidine incorporation assay and the agarose droplet cell migration inhibition assay, specific cell-mediated immunity was detected in all five animals against viral antigens and/or KCl-extractable soluble antigens extracted from the heart of a CVB3(m)-inoculated baboon. KCl-extracted antigens from normal baboon heart tissues, as well as KCl-extracted antigens from spleen or liver tissues from a CVB3(m)-inoculated baboon, failed to stimulate baboon peripheral blood lymphocytes or inhibit the migration of baboon peritoneal exudate cells. The appearance of dissimilar antigen(s) in extracts of heart tissues from CVB3(m)-inoculated baboons which did not contain infectious CVB3(m) parallels the appearance of novel KCl-extractable antigen(s) induced by CVB3(m) in murine heart tissues (Paque et al., J. Immunol. 120:1672-1678, 1978). The animal model described represents the first systematic evaluation of cell-mediated immunity in CVB3(m)-induced myocarditis in primates and suggests that a similar phenomenon may occur in humans.