THE APPLICATION OF FERRITIN-CONJUGATED ANTIBODY TO ELECTRON MICROSCOPIC STUDIES OF INFLUENZA VIRUS IN INFECTED CELLS

Abstract

Immersion of chorioallantoic membranes infected by influenza virus in ferritin-conjugated antibody globulin prior to fixation permits recognition of viral antigen at the cellular surface. In some cases the antigen is confined to sites at which viral particles appear to be in process of release, whereas in others it is present along the entire cellular surface. During infection part or all of the cellular membrane presumably is transformed so that it contains the antigenic and structural components which coat the virus during emergence. It is suggested that detached fragments of cytoplasm possessing surface hemagglutinin but incapable of initiating infection constitute at least one form of "incomplete virus."