Effect of proflavine on the synthesis of adenovirus, type 5, and associated soluble antigens.

Wilcox, Wesley C. (University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia) and Harold S. Ginsberg. Effect of proflavine on the synthesis of adenovirus, type 5, and associated soluble antigens. J. Bacteriol. 84:526-533. 1962.-The synthesis of type 5 adenovirus in HeLa cells was suppressed to a considerable extent by low concentrations of proflavine, an acridine dye. In comparison, the processes leading to the production of soluble complement-fixing antigens and toxin were less sensitive to the action of this chemical. Addition of proflavine to infected cells at different times during the virus growth cycle revealed that the processes leading to the synthesis of soluble antigens began prior to the first appearance of newly synthesized virus. This observation is compatible with the hypothesis that the soluble antigens may represent virus subunits or precursor materials. In addition, these data indicate that it is possible to interrupt the latter stages of the virus synthetic process by addition of proflavine late in the eclipse period.