ABSTRACT
The virus-specific glycopolypeptides together with matrix protein (MP) were exclusively associated with membrane fractions of the cell. The virus-specific glycopolypeptides together with MP were exclusively associated with membrane fractions of the cell. Epidemics of influenza have not been controlled by vaccination or chemoprophylaxis, although influenza is one of the most serious virus diseases of man; in epidemic years it has caused considerable excess mortality and morbidity. The search for inhibitors of influenza virus began soon after the original isolation of human influenza virus in the Medical Research Council laboratories at Hampstead and the successful transmission of the virus to ferrets by Smith et al. Influenza virus adsorption may result in a spatial rearrangement of membrane components such as glycoproteins or glycolipids. Features of the molecular biology of replication of influenza virus, particularly the high rate of genetic recombination and reassortment, present theoretical problems for influenza-inhibitory compounds.
