Antigenic variants of influenza A virus strains emerge on serial passage in ovo in the presence of immune serum against different but related strains. An old laboratory strain (PR8) which had been through hundreds of animal passages was as readily modified by this procedure as recently recovered strains. Such variants apparently can be obtained at will and show antigenic patterns which are reproducible and appear to be predictable in terms of the immune serum used for their selection. Variant strains retain their new antigenic patterns on serial passage in ovo in the absence of immune serum. Limited serial passage in ovo of strains in the absence of immune serum did not result in the emergence of antigenic variants. Similarly, serial passages of strains in ovo in the presence of immune serum against widely different strains, which failed to show significant cross-neutralization, did not lead to the appearance of antigenic variants.

No abstract

A mucoprotein, present in normal human urine, has been isolated and obtained in a state of a high degree of purity. A number of the biological, chemical, and physicochemical properties of the substance have been studied. From the results obtained in the present investigation and those reported in succeeding papers (34, 35) it appears that the mucoprotein has a high molecular weight, i.e., of the order of 7.0 x 106, consists of thread-like molecules which have axial ratios of approximately 100, and is specifically antigenic. This substance, which appears to be free of contaminating material, possesses in extraordinary degree the capacity to react with influenza, mumps, and Newcastle disease viruses. At equilibrium, with influenza virus, the minimal amount of the substance capable of giving a demonstrable reaction with one hemagglutinating unit of virus appears to be about 0.0003 µg. The mucoprotein is altered by preparations of influenza viruses and its capacity to react with these agents or others is lost. The kinetics of the inactivation process brought about by influenza viruses is in accord with those of well known enzyme-substrate systems. With the exception of the capacity to react with viruses, altered mucoprotein did not differ from the native substance relative to any of the properties examined in the present study. That certain physicochemical properties of the altered mucoprotein are different from those of the native substance is demonstrated in succeeding papers (34, 35).

Chloro derivatives of benzimidazole were found to be 2 to 3 times more active than corresponding methyl derivatives in causing inhibition of Lee virus multiplication in chorioallantoic membrane cultures in vitro. The most active benzimidazole derivative thus far tested is 5,6-dichloro-1-ß-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole (DRB); it caused 75 per cent inhibition of Lee virus multiplication in membrane cultures at a concentration of 0.38 x 10–4 M. On the other hand, 5,6-dimethyl-1-alpha;-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole, the moiety present in vitamin B12, failed to inhibit Lee virus multiplication at a concentration of 35 x 10–4 M. Other N-glycosides of 5,6-dichlorobenzimidazole were considerably less active than DRB. In single cycle experiments, the degree of inhibition of Lee virus multiplication by DRB in membrane cultures was not dependent on the amount of virus in the inoculum. This compound did not inactivate the infectivity of extracellular Lee virus, had no effect on virus-erythrocyte interaction, did not interfere with the adsorption of the virus by the host tissue, nor affect the release of newly formed virus from the membrane. The inhibitory effect of DRB on Lee virus multiplication, in contrast to that of 2,5-dimethylbenzimidazole, persisted after transfer of infected membranes into fresh culture medium not containing the compound. Both DRB and the 2,5-dimethyl compound caused 99 per cent inhibition of Lee virus multiplication without affecting oxygen uptake of the membrane. Tissue proliferation of membrane pieces in roller tube culture was not significantly affected by DRB at inhibitory concentration, whereas at equivalent concentration the 2,5-dimethyl compound did restrict cellular growth. At higher concentrations, both compounds caused retardation of cell proliferation. This effect was reversible on removal of either compound from the medium. The multiplication of several strains of influenza A and B viruses, i.e. Lee, MB, PR8, and FM1, was inhibited to the same degree by each of the two compounds; DRB was 35 times more active than the 2,5-dimethyl compound relative to each of the strains. DRB caused inhibition of Lee virus multiplication in intact embryonated chicken eggs and in mice without causing significant signs of toxicity in either host. Some of the implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the mechanism of the inhibition of influenza virus multiplication.

Procedures which make possible the enumeration of both infective and hemagglutinating influenza A virus particles have been developed and used in a quantitative investigation on the reproduction of the agent. Infective particles were found to be highly unstable and their half-life was only 147 minutes in allantoic fluid at 35°C. both in vitro and in vivo. The instability of infective particles provides an explanation for the rapid accumulation of non-infective particles which retained the hemagglutinating property. The number of non-infective (N) particles was determined from the difference between the number of hemagglutinating (H) particles and the number of infective (I) particles as indicated by the relation: [N] = [H]– [1]. When the half-life of infective particles was taken into account, both infective and hemagglutinating particles were found to disappear from the allantoic fluid; i.e., were adsorbed by the allantoic membrane, at the same logarithmic rate after inoculation. Inoculation of any number of particles up to 3 x 107 was followed by a constant and progressive decrease in the proportion of unadsorbed particles from 0 to 4 hours. Approximately 20 per cent of particles were unadsorbed at 2 hours and about 5 per cent at 4 hours. Inoculation of 3 x 108 or more particles led to a larger proportion of unadsorbed particles at 4 hours. The maximum number of particles adsorbed was computed to be about 1.6 x 109. The concentration of both infective and hemagglutinating particles increased rapidly in the allantoic fluid after 4 hours when any number of infective particles up to 3 x 107 was inoculated. With such inocula, the rate of increase during the logarithmic period was constant and the time to double the concentration of infective or hemagglutinating particles was 46 minutes. With larger inocula, i.e. 3 x 108 particles, the concentrations of infective and hemagglutinating particles did not increase until after 8 hours and the rate of increase was much slower. The time to double the concentration of either then became 92 minutes. The number of infective particles was approximately equal to the number of hemagglutinating particles during the logarithmic increase period when any number of infective particles up to 3 x 106 was inoculated and no more than 106 non-infective particles were included in the inoculum. This finding was taken to indicate that all or almost all particles produced and released under these conditions were infective. That such particles became inactivated rapidly and led to the accumulation of an increasing number of non-infective particles after the logarithmic period can be explained by the short half-life of infective particles. The number of infective particles was no larger than one-tenth the number of hemagglutinating particles during the logarithmic increase period after 3 x 107 or more infective particles had been inoculated or when smaller inocula were used which also contained 3 x 107 or more non-infective particles. Non-infective particles prepared in vitro at 35° or 22°C. were as effective as those which accumulated in vivo in diminishing the proportion of infective particles in the yield. The extent of the reduction in the proportion of infective particles was directly related to the number of non-infective particles included in the inoculum. The yield of hemagglutinating particles was diminished when the inoculum contained 3 x 107 or more non-infective particles. The rate of increase was reduced so that the time to double the concentration became 92 minutes when the inoculum contained 3 x 108 non-infective particles. It appears from these findings that the single condition which will lead to the emergence of non-infective particles during the logarithmic period is a high initial particle-cell ratio. Because non-infective particles are equally as effective as infective particles in producing this result, it seems probable that the appearance of non-infective but hemagglutinating particles is not a necessary accompaniment of the reproductive process.