Heparan sulphate and sialoadhesin were previously identified on porcine macrophages as receptors for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). In this study, the exact role and cooperation of heparan sulphate and sialoadhesin during PRRSV attachment and internalization was analysed. It was observed that both heparan sulphate and sialoadhesin mediate PRRSV attachment and that only these two receptors are involved in attachment. Analysis of attachment kinetics of PRRSV to macrophages revealed that early attachment is mediated mainly via an interaction with heparan sulphate, followed by a gradual increase in interaction with sialoadhesin. By using wild-type CHO and CHO deficient in heparan sulphate expression, it was shown that heparan sulphate alone is sufficient to mediate PRRSV attachment, but not entry, and that heparan sulphate is not necessary for sialoadhesin to function as a PRRSV internalization receptor, but enhances the interaction of the virus with sialoadhesin.Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) belongs to the family Arteriviridae, which is grouped together with the Coronaviridae and the Roniviridae in the order of the Nidovirales (Enjuanes et al., 2000;Mayo, 2002). A characteristic for the Arteriviridae is that they all share a marked in vivo tropism for cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage (Plagemann & Moennig, 1992;Snijder & Meulenberg, 1998). In vivo, PRRSV infects a subpopulation of differentiated macrophages, which can be identified by expression of sialoadhesin (Sn) (Duan et al., 1998; Vanderheijden et al., 2003). Besides differentiated macrophages, porcine testicular germ cells (spermatids and spermatocids) show limited susceptibility to PRRSV infection (Sur et al., 1997). In vitro, porcine alveolar macrophages (PAM), some cultivated peripheral blood monocytes and the African green monkey kidney cell-line MA-104, and cells derived thereof, such as Marc-145 and CL-2621, can be used to grow the virus (Kim et al., 1993;Voicu et al., 1994;Duan et al., 1997).At present, two PRRSV receptors are identified on porcine macrophages, the in vivo target cell. Heparan sulphate was identified as a receptor on macrophages for both European and American strains, and the viral matrix protein on itself, or as a complex with GP 5 , was identified as a heparinbinding protein (Delputte et al., 2002). The macrophagespecific protein Sn was identified as a receptor that mediates PRRSV internalization of European and American strains (Vanderheijden et al., 2003). mAb 41D3, specific for Sn, is able to block infection completely, and cells that are not permissive for PRRSV infection internalize the virus upon expression of a recombinant Sn (Duan et al., 1998; Vanderheijden et al., 2003). Although these cells can internalize the virus, they are not productively infected. The virus apparently remains in the endosome and the viral genome is not released in the cytoplasm, indicating that a cellular factor, which is essential for infection, is lacking in these cells (Vanderheijd...