Nuclear magnetic resonance investigation of virus-lymphomonocyte interactions

Area of Science:

• Biophysics
• Virology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Viral infections induce cellular changes detectable by biophysical methods.
• Conventional virological techniques can be time-consuming and may not detect early-stage infections.
• Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) are susceptible to various viral infections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H-NMR) relaxation time measurements for detecting viral infections in human cells.
• To assess the sensitivity and specificity of NMR as a diagnostic tool for viral infections.
• To correlate NMR signal changes with viral load and early cellular alterations.

Main Methods:

• Measurement of water protein spin-lattice relaxation time (T1) in PBMC suspensions.
• Infection of PBMC with herpes simplex virus type 1, human cytomegalovirus, and rubella virus.
• Analysis of T1 enhancement in relation to virus concentration and cytopathic effect (CPE).
• Validation using homologous antisera to neutralize viral infection and NMR effects.

Main Results:

• Significant T1 enhancements were observed in virus-infected PBMC.
• The observed T1 increase showed a linear dependence on virus concentration.
• NMR signal changes correlated with early viral adsorption, preceding detectable CPE.
• NMR responses were reproducible, specific, and neutralized by antisera.

Conclusions:

• 1H-NMR relaxation time measurements offer a rapid and sensitive method for detecting viral infections.
• This NMR technique can identify early cellular changes induced by viral adsorption.
• NMR shows potential for direct implementation in virological diagnosis using pathological materials.