Low levels of mumps virus antigen induced interferon-alpha production in insulin-dependent diabetes.

The in vitro production of interferon-alpha was studied in cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from children with insulin-dependent diabetes. Significantly lower levels (p less than 0.01) of interferon (median 64 IU/ml) were found in mumps antigen stimulated cultures of IDDM patients compared to control children (median 256 IU/ml) whereas no differences between groups were found in the amount of interferon induced by Coxsackie B pool antigen or live Sendai virus.