STUDIES ON THE MULTIPLICATION AND THE PROPERTIES OF THE LACTIC DEHYDROGENASE AGENT

Abstract

The procedure used to determine the infective titer of the LDH agent, the reproducibility of this assay, and the relationship between virus dose and plasma enzyme activity were described. Multiplication of the LDH agent began within 6 hours after infection and reached 10^10.8 ID₅₀/ml of plasma within 24 hours. The titer rapidly decreased over the next 72 hours but viremia persisted for at least 16 months with titers as high as 10^5.2 ID₅₀/ml. The appearance of the LDH agent in the circulation preceded the first noticeable rise in plasma LDH activity by close to 24 hours. After 10 months, when the plasma titer of the LDH agent had decreased nearly one millionfold, the plasma enzyme LDH had decreased by less than 50 per cent.