Studies on the mechanism of influenza virus entry into cells.

Inhibitors of glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation, protein synthesis, membrane Na&-K& transport and microfilament and microtubule function have been employed to elucidate the mechanism of influenza virus uptake by CAM and CEF cells. Electron microscopy demonstrated uptake of virus by viropexis in the presence of all these inhibitors. Utilizing a pulse labelling technique, virus entering CEF cells in the presence of inhibitors was shown to initiate specific virus polypeptide synthesis after neutralization of remaining extracellular virus and removal of the inhibitors. As a consequence of these findings an energy independent mechanism of viropexis has been proposed.