Enhancement of enterovirus infectivity in vitro by pretreating host cell monolayers with the cationic polymer polyethyleneimine.

Laboratory strains of enteroviruses, as well as viruses isolated from raw wastewater, were found to exhibit enhanced infectivity in vitro when BGM cell monolayers were pretreated with the cationic polymer polyethyleneimine (PEI). Viruses were assayed by the cytopathic effect technique and as PFU under methylcellulose and agar overlays with monolayers treated with 0 to 5.0 x 10(-3)% (wt/vol) PEI in phosphate-buffered saline supplemented with 2% fetal bovine serum. Poliovirus type 1 cytopathic effect occurred at an enhanced rate in cells treated with 5.0 x 10(-3)% PEI compared with untreated cells. PEI-treated cells were found to adsorb viruses much more effectively than untreated cells did. When the methylcellulose overlay procedure was used, rates of infectivity were enhanced as follows: poliovirus type 1, 5.5-fold; echovirus type 1, 1.2-fold; echovirus type 5, 5.2-fold; and coxsackievirus type B5, 4.9-fold. Viruses concentrated from raw wastewater showed a 3.8-fold increase in titer when quantitated by the most-probable-number method and a 3.3-fold increase when quantitated as PFU under an agar overlay.