Effects of pancreatin on the growth of reovirus.

Wallis, Craig (Baylor University College of Medicine, Houston, Tex.), Joseph L. Melnick, and Fred Rapp. Effects of pancreatin on the growth of reovirus. J. Bacteriol. 92:155-160. 1966.-The influence of pancreatin and other proteolytic enzymes on the growth, plaque formation, and antigenicity of reovirus was studied. Single-cycle yields of virus in the presence of enzyme were not increased, but multiple-cycle yields of virus were greatly enhanced. Immunofluorescence studies demonstrated that the transmission of reovirus from cell to cell is more rapid in the presence of the enzyme. These findings led to the development of a rapid plaque assay system for reovirus, a virus which has previously been difficult to assay by the plaque method. In the recommended procedure, pancreatin is incorporated into the agar overlay. Monkeys immunized with enzyme-treated reovirus yielded higher antibody titers than animals receiving the same amount of untreated virus.