%0 Journal Article %A Lardans, Vinca %A Godfraind, Catherine %A van der Logt, Jos T. M. %A Heessen, Frans W. A. %A Gonzalez, Maria-Dolores %A Coutelier, Jean-Paul %T Polyclonal B lymphocyte activation induced by mouse hepatitis virus A59 infection %D 1996 %J Journal of General Virology, %V 77 %N 5 %P 1005-1009 %@ 1465-2099 %R https://doi.org/10.1099/0022-1317-77-5-1005 %I Microbiology Society, %X Mouse hepatitis viruses (MHV) diversely affect immune responses, depending on the viral strain and the mouse genetic background. Here, we studied the effect of MHV-A59 infection on B cell responses of 129/Sv and CBA mice. Our results indicate that in these strains, MHV-A59 induces spleen cell activation that leads to enlargement of the spleen without structural alteration. Infection triggers production by B lymphocytes of large amounts of immunoglobulin G2a, mostly without viral specificity. This polyclonal immunoglobulin production is dependent on the presence of functional T helper cells. This polyclonal B lymphocyte activation induced by MHV-A59 infection can have pathological implications, such as the enhancement of concomitant autoimmune reactions. %U https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jgv/10.1099/0022-1317-77-5-1005