STUDIES ON THE VIRUS HEMAGGLUTINATION USING FORMALIN-TREATED ERYTHROCYTES

Abstract

Since the discovery of the influenza virus hemagglutination by Hirst (1), a number of other viruses have been found to possess the similar capacity of agglutinating red cells, and this reaction has become a useful tool in both the cinical and the immunological fields.Concerning the hemagglutination of the mouse encepholomyelitis virus GD VII strain and FA strain belonging to neurotropic viruses, Lahelle and Horsfall (2) (1949) reported that the GD VII strain virus agglutinated the human O type erythrocytes at 4°C, and Nakagawa and Kodama (3) found that the FA strain virus could agglutinate the chicken red cells at 4°C when a 1.5% CaCl2 solution was used as a reaction medium. Therefore, it would seem that these hemagglutinating properties differed from the hemagglutination (HA) of myxovirus (4) (5).Resently, Cox and Pirtle (6) made out formalin-treated erythrocytes (PHE) which were established by Flick (7), and reported that when they were used for HA of the influenza virus, the hemagglutination titer (HAT) was increased. The paper presented here is the studies on HA of neurotropic virues and a influenza virus using f ormalin-treated erythrocytes from the considerations of HA conditions, concentration of formalin, reaction media, their pH reaction, temperatures, and effect of RDE and enzyme-treatment. In addition, the effects of formalin-treatment on the virus receptor of erythrocytes will be reported.