Abstract
Infection of HeLa cells with poliovirus results in a shutdown of host transcription. In an effort to understand the mechanism(s) that underlies this process, we analyzed the distribution of RNA polymerase IIO before and after viral infection. Analysis of free and chromatin-bound enzyme indicated that there is a significant reduction in RNA polymerase IIO following infection. This observation, together with increasing evidence that transcription is catalyzed by RNA polymerase IIO, supports the hypothesis that poliovirus-induced inhibition of host transcription occurs at the level of RNA chain initiation and involves the direct modification of RNA polymerase II.