Effect of cytochalasin B on the maturation of enveloped viruses

The maturation of two enveloped viruses, influenza and vesicular stomatitis, occurs in cells treated with cytochalasin B. Virions produced in the presence of 50 microgram/ml cytochalasin B (CB) appear to be as infectious as those from control cells, indicating that polymerized actin is not required for the assembly of functional viral components. CB inhibits the release of influenza virus from treated cells, a phenomenon which appears to be a result of the synthesis of an aberrant neuraminidase (NA) glycoprotein; virions grown in CB-treated cells had a 90% reduction in specific enzymatic activity. We found that both influenza viral glycoproteins (NA and Hemagglutinin glycoprotein) had faster electrophoretic mobilities and were more heterogeneous in CB-treated cells as compared with controls. We also observed complete inhibition of incorporation of labeled glucosamine into viral glycoproteins in the presence of the drug. It was of interest that CB-induced inhibition of glycosylation appeared to cause loss of neuraminidase function, whereas hemagglutinating activity was not noticeably impaired. The presence of altered glycoproteins did not significantly diminish the infectivity of either influenza virus or vesicular stomatitis virus. Our results indicate that no step in the maturation of enveloped viruses is dependent upon an intact cytoskeletal network.