Participation of bicarbonate in RNA and protein synthesis as indicated by virus propagation in human cells.

The propagation of a strain of Coxsackie virus, group B type 1, in human cell cultures depleted of bicarbonate has been studied. Under the described experimental conditions, bicarbonate depletion suppresses the propagation of this virus. This suppressive effect may be reversed by the addition of the following compounds to the bicarbonate-depleted cultures: (a) bicarbonate; (b) adenosine, guanosine, cytidine, and uridine; (c) adenylic, guanylic, cytidylic, and uridylic acids; (d) enzymatically degraded RNA prepared from yeasts or human embryo, or (e) RNA. The following compounds are unable to reverse the suppressive effect of bicarbonate depletion: (a) adenine, guanine, cytosine, and uracil, with or without ribose; (b) adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine; (c) deoxyadenosine, deoxyguanosine, deoxycytidine, and thymidine; (d) deoxyadenylic, deoxyguanylic, deoxycytidylic, and thymidylic acids; (e) enzymatically degraded DNA, or (f) DNA. The same general results as with the Coxsackie virus have been obtained with a strain of poliovirus and vaccinia virus. The failure of bicarbonate depletion to suppress completely the propagation of the poliovirus under the described condition constitutes a major difference. The significance of these findings is discussed.