SUMMARY

The development of autoimmunity was investigated in BALB/c and C58 mice infected with lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV). Autoantibodies reactive by ELISA with syngeneic central nervous ystem antigens appeared early during LDV infection of both strains of mice, and were maintained for many months. Western blot analysis indicated that the LDV-induced autoantibodies reacted with a variety of different brain antigens, and mouse strain differences in the pattern of autoreactivity were observed. LDV infection of C58 and BALB/c mice also stimulated antibodies reactive with syngeneic liver-, kidney- and spleen-derived antigens, and in Swiss outbred mice heart-reactive antibodies were observed following LDV infection. These results how that autoimmunity is a feature of the deregulation of the immune system which occurs during LDV infection. Lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV) is a persistent togavirus of mice (Rowson & Mahy, 1975). Although immunogenic (Notkins et al., 1968; Cafruny & Plagemann, 1982a; Cafruny et al., 1986 c), the virus is never cleared from the host, and viral persistence is associated with various poorly understood effects on host immunity, including polyclonal activation o