ARTHUS PHENOMENON-LIKE SKIN REACTION CAUSED BY VACCINIA VIRUS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO EFFECT OF NITROGEN MUSTARD AND BENZENE

Abstract

1. The administration of nitrogen mustard and benzene induced marked leucopenia in rabbits in which the local lesions caused by vaccinia virus were suppressed in the early stage and later showed the increment and retardation of inflammation compared to those of control rabbits.
2. The infectivity of 100 MID vaccinia virus was completely inactivated when mixed with nitrogen mustard in doses as low as 25μg.
3. In the rabbits treated with benzene prior to the viral infection, hyperplasia and degeneration of epidermal cells, nest-like degenerating foci in the connective tissue, and the absence of leucocytic infiltration characterized the skin lesions. These histological changes in rabbits appear to closely resemble those found in the infected fertile egg membranes.
4. The amount of virus in the injected skin sites of rabbits treated with benzene was almost same as that in control rabbits and remained constant for a longer period, while in control rabbits it diminished in 72 to 96 hours after the inoculation of virus.
5. The formation of hemagglutination inhibiting antibody was markedly inhibited by treatment of rabbits with benzol prior to the inoculation of virus.