Effect of Swine Influenza Virus on the Viscosity of the Egg-white Inhibitor of Hemagglutination

Abstract

Semipurified solns. of a substance from egg-white which is capable of inhibiting the hemagglutination activity of heated virus but is inactivated by unheated virus is prepd. by phosphate buffer extraction of egg-white. The high viscosity of this soln. is markedly decreased upon mixing with unheated virus, but not with heated virus. Addition of sufficient convalescent anti-swine influenza serum to neutralize hemagglutinating power of virus completely inhibits the viscosity-reducing action of the virus. An enzyme reaction in which the virus acts as an enzyme on the egg-white inhibitor as substrate is suggested as a possible mode of action in the viscosity-reducing effect, and if this hypothesis is correct, this is a direct demonstration of enzyme activity of a virus on a simple substrate.