Entry and release of poliovirus as observed by electron microscopy of cultured cells.

Cells of differing culture types were inoculated with poliovirus at 37 C, sampled at intervals during the replicative cycle, and examined in thin sections by electron microscopy. The earliest samples, taken at 2 and 5 min postinoculation, showed virus particles adjacent to the exterior of the plasma membrane and others that had apparently penetrated it directly; later samples showed fewer such particles or none. Particles lying in the peripheral cytoplasm frequently appeared swollen and distorted in shape. No sign of virus entry by a pinocytotic process was found at any time. At 3 hr, and subsequently during the replication cycle, particles of progeny virus appeared in the cytoplasm. They were found free in the cytoplasmic matrix, aligned along the elements of filamentous complexes, and enclosed within vesicles. Some of the vesicles were found to be open to the extracellular space, indicating a likely mechanism of virus release.