Effect of viruses on luminol-dependent chemiluminescence of human neutrophils

The effects of Newcastle disease, herpes simplex, vaccinia, encephalomyocarditis, vesicular stomatitis and reoviruses on in vitro function of neutrophils were studied in Ficoll-Hypaque-separated polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) employing the technique of luminol-dependent chemiluminescence. Newcastle disease, herpes simplex vaccinia, and reoviruses depressed chemiluminescence by 98, 65, 46, and 29%, respectively, while encephalomyocarditis and vesicular stomatitis viruses had no inhibitory effect. None of the viruses affected phagocytosis or PMN viability. These observations suggest significant alteration of neutrophil function by interaction with several viruses in in vitro settings. It is suggested that similar changes in PMN function may occur during in vivo viral infection.