Lepidopteran cell lines after long-term culture in alternative media: Comparison of growth rates and baculovirus replication

Summary Three insect cell lines, IPLB-LdFB and IPLB-LdEIta from gypsy moth fat body and embryos and UFL-AG-286 from velvetbean caterpillar embryos, have been concurrently maintained for 1 to 12 yr on two media formulations, modified TC-100 containing 9% fetal bovine serum and Ex-cell 400, a commercial serum-free medium (SFM). Cells grown in each medium were tested for susceptibility to and productivity of various multiply embedded nucleopolyhedroviruses. The three lines chosen for these experiments fall into three categories of relative growth in SFM versus TC-100: LdFB cells grew similarly in each medium, LdEIta grew better in Ex-Cell than in TC-100, and AG-286 grew better in TC-100 than in Ex-Cell. The susceptibility of cells to infection also varies, although without any apparent correlation to which medium was best for supporting growth. Endpoint assays suggested that LdFB cells grown in serum-containing medium are more susceptible to virus infection than their SFM counterparts, while the opposite is true for LdEIta cells. Production of virus, based on numbers of occlusion bodies, showed fewer differences with only AcMNPV production with AG-286 in TC-100 being statistically higher than production of the same virus in Ex-cell 400. These studies suggest that long-term passage in alternative media may impact the ability of cells to support virus infection and replication, but the effects on each cell line and virus system need to be determined.