Interferon and Murine Leukemia. V. Effect of Interferon Preparations on the Evolution of Rauscher Disease in Mice

The continued administration of concentrated interferon preparations prolonged the mean survival time of BALB/c mice infected with Rauscher virus. The evolution of various manifestations of Rauscher disease—hepatosplenomegaly, leulcocytosis, and anemia—was also delayed in interferon-treated mice as was the development of sequential pathologic changes in the spleen. Less infectious virus was present in the spleens of several interferon-treated mice than in the spleens of controls, as determined by biologic assay and electron microscopy. It is suggested that continued interferon treatment delays the progression of Rauscher disease by a continued inhibition of the multiplication of Rauscher virus.