Virus-induced alterations of lymphoid tissue. IV. The effect of Newcastle disease virus on the fate of transfused thoracic duct lymphocytes

⁵¹Cr-labeled thoracic duct lymphocytes were briefly incubated at 4 °C with Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and then infused into syngeneic rats. Virus diverted the homing of many donor cells from lymph nodes and spleen to the liver. Evidence was obtained suggesting that some NDV-treated lymphocytes initially trapped in the liver subsequently migrated into the lymph nodes. The results imply that NDV transiently interrupts the normal route of lymphocyte migration. Alterations in lymphocyte distribution were mediated by attachment of virus to the cell surface and were the same as those induced by incubating lymphocytes with V. cholera neuraminidase before infusion. It appears that reactions involving 2–3′ and/or2–8′ linked sialyl residues on the surface of recirculating lymphocytes can markedly affect their distribution in the body.