Inhibition of enterovirus cytopathic effects by 2-(alpha-hydroxybenzyl)-benzimidazole.

Bablanian, Rostom (The Rockefeller University, New York, N.Y.), Hans J. Eggers, and Igor Tamm. Inhibition of enterovirus cytopathic effects by 2-(alpha-hydroxybenzyl)-benzimidazole. J. Bacteriol. 91:1289-1294. 1966.-2-(alpha-Hydroxybenzyl)-benzimidazole (HBB), a specific inhibitor of enterovirus multiplication, markedly delayed the development of cytopathological changes induced by echovirus 12 or coxsackievirus B4 in monkey kidney cells, but did not prevent the ultimate degeneration of infected cells, even though virus multiplication was inhibited. The study of the development of viral cytopathic effects was facilitated by the use of antiviral immune serum, which restricted the infection to those cells which became infected by the inoculated virus and thereby established single-cycle conditions. With echovirus 12 and coxsackievirus B4 not all cells could be infected initially, even when cultures were inoculated at input multiplicities in excess of 100 plaque-forming units per cell.