Abstract
Nagler (1) first demonstrated the specific hemagglutination of fowl red cells by vaccinia virus preparations. Since then, many works (2) - (25) have been published, and plenty of important properties of vaccinia hemagglutinin (VH) have been established. Burnet and Stone (4) indicated that VII differed from hemagglutinin of MNI virus group in that the former is a soluble substance which can be separated from the elementary body by centrifugation or by adsorption to the susceptible fowl red cells. They supposed that VII is complex of a phospholipid with an antigenically specific virus constituent. Thermolabile and thermostable components were demonstrated by Chu (5) and further investigated by Gillen and his collaborators (7), concerning their relations to virus particles. Collier (8) - (20) reported on the biological and immunological characteristics of the vaccinia hemagglutination, using buffalo pulp chiefly as well as the viruses of other origins. He also reported that the hemagglutinationinhibition test can be applied as an aid of the diagnostic procedures of smallpox cases in Java (21) . The nature of VH, however, remains largely unknown and the purifcation of VH seems to be very difficult. More recently, Briody and his collaborators (22) reported the development of hemagglutinating and infective particles in the chorioallantois of the chick embryo, suggesting the “one step growth” of vaccinia virus. Briody (23) also advocated a “unitarian” view of vaccinia hemagglutinin.
In order to obtain more detailed aspects on the properties of VH and the mode of its production within host cells, experiments have been carried out and the present paper deals with the results obtaind regarding the production of VH in the developing chick embryo.
