The effect of influenza virus infection on the agglutinability by concanavalin A of polyoma-transformed BHK-21 cells.

Polyoma-transformed (Py-transformed) BHK-21 cells are agglutinated more readily by Concanavalin A (Con A) after they are infected with influenza virus; this agglutination was only slightly affected by fixation with glutaraldehyde or colchicine treatment. It is suggest that the mechanism is not dependent on membrane fluidity. The same amounts of 125i-labelled Con A were bound after infection with influenza virus and after glutaraldehyde fixation with or without colchicine treatment: it seems therefore that new receptors for Con A are not expressed between 90 and 600 minutes after these cells are infected with influenza virus.