Effect of anticellular serum on the attachment of enteroviruses to HeLa cells.

Anticellular serum (ACS), in the absence of an active complement system, was shown to inhibit the attachment of poliovirus types 1 and 2, echovirus type 6, and coxsackievirus types A13, B1, and B3 to viral receptors of live HeLa cells. This is the first report to provide evidence that ACS has an inhibitory effect on the interaction between host cells and coxsackieviruses of group B. The titer of inhibitory activity of ACS varied inversely with the cell concentration used, the reaction being virtually completed after an incubation period of 30 min at 37 C. The inhibitory activity of ACS persisted for more than 4 hr at 37 C, and was shown to be reversible at pH 2.0, revealing that although the receptors for attaching virus were inactivated by ACS the inactivation was not permanent. These findings are consistent with the concept that antibodies in the ACS combine with and blockade viral receptors located at the cell surface. An antiserum with a specificity for inhibiting attachment of coxsackievirus B1 was obtained by dual absorption of ACS with cells saturated with coxsackievirus type B3 and chymotrypsin-treated cells. These findings offer an approach whereby the antigenic relationship of viral receptors to other constituents of the cell surface can be studied.