COMPETITION BINDING-STUDIES WITH BIOTINYLATED ECHOVIRUS-11 IN CYTOFLUOROMETRY ANALYSIS

Competition binding studies between viruses are usually performed with radiolabelled probes. In this report, a cytofluorimetric method using biotinylated echovirus (EV) 11 is described for the study of competition of enteroviruses for a common cell receptor site. An N-hydroxysuccinimide ester biotin spacer arm was used for biotinylation of CsSO4-purified EV 11. Biotinylation did not change the infectivity of the virus (attachment to and replication in susceptible cells). With the exception of EV 22 and EV 23, all the echovirus serotypes and also coxsackievirus A9 (CA 9) were able to inhibit the absorption of biotinylated EV 11 onto cells. The taxonomic implications of these findings are discussed.