Encephalomyocarditis virus can bind to and transfect non-permissive cells.

Mouse embryo fibroblasts and mouse adrenal tumor cells support the replication of encephalomyocarditis (EMC) virus, whereas rat glial and rat hepatoma cells are non-permissive. These differences in susceptibility were not due to the lack of virus attachment to rat cells. The findings that rat cells could be transfected with RNA derived from EMC virus indicates that the block in viral replication in these cells occurs at some point between attachment and uncoating of virus, probably at the level of uncoating.