Abstract
IN a recent publication1 dealing with the mechanism of virus hæmagglutination, it was suggested that erythrocytes that had adsorbed the virus became hydrophobic, hence their tendency to cling to glass. This hydrophobic character of the virus – erythrocyte adsorption complex produces behaviour similar to that observed with oil droplets in an aqueous medium. That is, under the influence of surface tension the complex adheres to any surface with which it is in contact. It was further suggested that the aggregation of erythrocytes (hæmagglutination), as well as tendency to cling to glass (shield formation), could be explained in this fashion without the necessity of postulating virus ‘bridges’2 linking cell to cell and cell to glass.
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CHESBRO, W., HEDRICK, L. Comparison of the Tendency to cling to Glass and Hæmagglutination produced in Erythrocyte Suspensions by Ferric Chloride and by Influenza Virus. Nature 182, 1164 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/1821164a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/1821164a0
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