Comparative Sensitivity of Tissue Cultures to Rubella Virus: Use of Guinea Pig Cells for Virus Titration

A series of 19 different primary and serial tissue cultures were investigated for their sensitivity to virulent or attenuated rubella virus (RV). Primary guinea pig tissues, a serial passage of baby hamster kidney, and primary human amnion were comparable to African green monkey kidney tissue cultures in their sensitivity. In general, primary human tissues were relatively insusceptible to the Gilchrist strain of RV. RV interfered with the growth of vesicular stomatitis virus. Based on this finding, it was possible to develop an assay method in guinea pig tissue cultures by using VSV as the challenge virus. This system appeared to be comparable in sensitivity to the use of primary monkey kidney tissue cultures for the detection of small amounts of RV and offers the advantages of economy, rapidity, and safety.     

Susceptibility of fetal guinea pig brain cell cultures to replicating guinea pig cytomegalovirus infection is increased with increasing fetal age: infection of astrocytes.

Guinea pig brain cell cultures were established from fetuses at 25, 31, and 37 days of gestation (DG). After 7 days in vitro, the cultures were infected with guinea pig cytomegalovirus (GPCMV). Based on cytopathic effect, immunofluorescence staining for GPCMV by using virus-specific antiserum, and the amount of virus recovered, cultures established from fetuses at 25 DG were least susceptible to replicating infection, and cultures established from fetuses at 37 DG were most susceptible. Using cell-type-specific markers, it was determined that the increase in susceptibility to replicating infection paralleled an increase in the number of differentiated cells. Astrocytes were the most abundant cell type identified and were susceptible to replicating GPCMV infection, whereas neurons were not.     

Role of heterogenized cellular antigens in cross immunity reactions in paramyxovirus infections]

Heterogenized antigens similar to the antigens of sheep and guinea pig red blood cells were revealed by indirect immunofluorescence in tissue cultures infected with parotitis virus. Participation of these antigens in cross immunofluorescence reactions observed in tissue cultures infected with various paramyxoviruses and in a suspension of erythrocytes loaded with these viruses was established. It was shown that immunization of children with parotitis virus was accompanied by a specific anamnestic reaction for heterogenized antigens. It is supposed that the corresponding antibodies can take part in cross serological tests with parainfluenza viruses.     

Complement-Fixing Antigen from BHK-21 Cell Cultures Infected with Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus

Infection of BHK-21 cells with lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) virus resulted in the production of significant titers of complement-fixing (CF) antigen. The antigen was spontaneously released from the cells, but the highest titer of 1:16 was recovered by disruption of the infected cells by freeze-thawing in tryptose phosphate broth. The antigen could be partially separated from infectious virus by centrifugation. Furthermore, it was possible to detect LCM virus infection of cell cultures by the production of the CF antigen, but this method proved less sensitive than titration by intracerebral inoculation of mice. The CF antigen from cell cultures was at least as sensitive and specific as the reference antigen prepared from infected guinea pig spleen.     

Growth of Myxovirus parainfluenza type 3 in organ cultures of guinea pig tissue

Craighead, J. E. (Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.). Growth of Myxovirus parainfluenza type 3 in organ cultures of guinea pig tissue. J. Bacteriol. 92:751-761. 1966.-Organ cultures of adult guinea pig nasal mucosa, lung, and pleura were infected with Myxovirus parainfluenza type 3. Observations were made on the growth of virus at intervals after inoculation. An inoculum of 10(2.5) tissue culture infectious doses (tcid(50)) initiated infection in each of the tissues. Cultures of nasal mucosa yielded up to 10(6.0)tcid(50) per 6 hr for periods of as long as 2 weeks. Virus production was not affected by the "immune" status of the animal used as a source of tissue. Introduction of antiserum into the medium appeared to suppress virus release but failed to "cure" the infection. Interferon was not detected in fluids bathing the nasal mucosa. Cultured fragments of lung produced virus for 28 days after inoculation. As much as 10(5.0)tcid(50) per 6 hr was released by the tissue. Pleural mesothelial cells lining the diaphragm yielded up to 10(6.0)tcid(50) per 6 hr over a 14-day period. Histological sections showed that the tissues retained differentiated morphological features during maintenance in vitro. Cytological changes unequivocally associated with infection were not recognized. The techniques described give reproducible, quantitative results. Organ cultures are feasible for the study of virus growth and cytopathology in differentiated tissues.     

Genetic and phenotypic variation of foot-and-mouth disease virus during serial passages in a natural host

Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV), like other RNA viruses, exhibits high mutation rates during replication that have been suggested to be of adaptive value. However, even though genetic variation in RNA viruses and, more specifically, FMDV has been extensively examined during virus replication in a wide variety of in vitro cell cultures, very little is known regarding the generation and effects of genetic variability of virus replication in the natural host under experimental conditions and no genetic data are available regarding the effects of serial passage in natural hosts. Here, we present the results of 20 serial contact transmissions of the highly pathogenic, pig-adapted O Taiwan 97 (O Tw97) isolate of FMDV in swine. We examined the virus genomic consensus sequences for a total of 37 full-length viral genomes recovered from 20 in vivo passages. The characteristics and distributions of changes in the sequences during the series of pig infections were analyzed in comparison to the O Tw97 genomes recovered from serially infected BHK-21 cell cultures. Unexpectedly, a significant reduction of virulence upon pig passages was observed, and finally, interruption of the viral transmission chain occurred after the14th pig passage (T14). Virus was, however, isolated from the tonsils and nasal swabs of the asymptomatic T15 pigs at 26 days postcontact, consistent with a natural establishment of the carrier state previously described only for ruminants. Surprisingly, the region encoding the capsid protein VP1 (1D) did not show amino acid changes during in vivo passages. These data demonstrate that contact transmission of FMDV O Tw97 in pigs mimics the fitness loss induced by the bottleneck effect, which was previously observed by others during plaque-to-plaque FMDV passage in vitro, suggesting that unknown mechanisms of virulence recovery might be necessary during the evolution and perpetuation of FMDV in nature.     

Endogenous agents in primary cell cultures with special reference to latent viruses

Summary A survey study of primary cell cultures prepared from primate and nonprimate tissues has shown that viruses are commonly found as endogenous agents in these cultures. Cultures prepared from monkey tissues yielded the greatest variety of virus isolates. Almost all strain 2 guinea pig cultures contained a Herpes-like virus, and both strain 2 and Hartley animals contained C-type virus. Bovine embryo and rabbit kidney cell cultures were rarely infected with viruses. Toxoplasmas and microfilariae were also detected. Most of the endogenous viral agents were obtained by holding the cultures for long-term incubation while testing for cytopathic effect, hemadsorption, and staining with hematoxylin and eosin for virus-induced cellular inclusions. Fluorescent antibody staining and electron microscopy were found to be efficient for detection of certain types of viruses. The screening of animals by testing for the presence of neutralizing antibody was not an effective procedure in selecting virus-free animals for cell culture purposes. This study was supported in part by the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Contract NIH-DBS-72-2105, and Research Grant AI 08648 from the Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. Presented at the Session in Depth on Endogenous Viruses in Cell Culture at the Twenty-fifth Annual Meeting of the Tissue Culture Association, June 1974.     

Growth of the IB-RS-2 Pig Kidney Cell Line in Suspension Culture and Its Susceptibility to Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus

The adaptation of the pig kidney cell line IB-RS-2, clone 60, to growth in suspension culture is described. When fully adapted, an approximate threefold increase in viable cells was obtained within 72 hr from initial cell concentrations of 5 x 10(5) per ml in culture volumes up to 1,500 ml. The monolayer cells (99th passage level) used to initiate the suspension cultures and the fully adapted suspension cells were shown to have an aneuploid chromosome karyotype, whereas earlier monolayer cultures (32nd passage level) had a pseudodiploid karyotype. Replicate virus titrations in monolayers prepared from suspension-adapted cells, IB-RS-2 monolayer cells, BHK monolayer cells, and in suckling mice showed that the suspension cells had retained sensitivity to foot-and-mouth disease virus. The geometric mean peak infectivity of seven strains of foot-and-mouth disease virus grown in IB-RS-2 suspension cells was 10(8.2) plaque-forming units per ml, with a mean complement-fixing activity of approximately 135 complement-fixing units per ml. These preliminary results indicate that submerged cultures of these cells on an industrial scale may be useful for commercial foot-and-mouth disease vaccine production.     

Guinea pig-adapted foot-and-mouth disease virus with altered receptor recognition can productively infect a natural host

We report that adaptation to infect the guinea pig did not modify the capacity of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) to kill suckling mice and to cause an acute and transmissible disease in the pig, an important natural host for this pathogen. Adaptive amino acid replacements (I(248)-->T in 2C, Q(44)-->R in 3A, and L(147)-->P in VP1), selected upon serial passages of a type C FMDV isolated from swine (biological clone C-S8c1) in the guinea pig, were maintained after virus multiplication in swine and suckling mice. However, the adaptive replacement L(147)-->P, next to the integrin-binding RGD motif at the GH loop in VP1, abolished growth of the virus in different established cell lines and modified its antigenicity. In contrast, primary bovine thyroid cell cultures could be productively infected by viruses with replacement L(147)-->P, and this infection was inhibited by antibodies to alphavbeta6 and by an FMDV-derived RGD-containing peptide, suggesting that integrin alphavbeta6 may be used as a receptor for these mutants in the animal (porcine, guinea pig, and suckling mice) host. Substitution T(248)-->N in 2C was not detectable in C-S8c1 but was present in a low proportion of the guinea pig-adapted virus. This substitution became rapidly dominant in the viral population after the reintroduction of the guinea pig-adapted virus into pigs. These observations illustrate how the appearance of minority variant viruses in an unnatural host can result in the dominance of these viruses on reinfection of the original host species.     

海南岛两个虫媒病毒分离物的初步鉴定

本文报告,1985年夏从海南岛采集的6种蚊子中,分离到4株乙型脑炎病毒和38株非乙脑病毒,其中两株(HN8和HN99)为甲组虫媒病毒。二者抗原性非常相近,对乳小白鼠脑内、腹腔和皮下接种部有较强的致病力,能在多种组织培养细胞上增殖并产生病变,能在鸡胚纤维母细胞上形成空斑,能凝集多种动物红细胞,血凝pH范围为5.75～6.4,最适pH为5.75或6.0,血凝素在4～37℃均较稳定,血凝素对福尔马林敏感。病毒呈球形,有包膜,直径60～65nm,属RNA病毒,对热、酸、乙醚和紫外线均敏感。血清学鉴定表明这两株病毒只与甲组虫媒病毒抗体有反应,尤其与MAY病毒抗原性关系较密切。同年从当地人、畜血清中检查了HN99病毒抗体,其阳性率为:健康人14％,猪23％,山羊35％。另外还与北京的M4株病毒作了初步比较,并对新毒株及我国其它有关毒株的分类学地位提出了初步看法。     

Bovine Adenovirus

Nine strains of an adenovirus serotype were recovered in bovine testicle cell cultures from Japanese cattle suffering with an acute febrile illness accompanied by rhinorrhea and diarrhea. The isolated virus was shown to have the physicochemical properties of the adenovirus group such as the nucleic acid type, the size and ultrastructure of the virion, and the resistance to ether and chloroform. The isolated virus produced eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies characteristic of adenoviruses and the group specific antigen of adenovirus in bovine testicle cell culture. According to the results of cross-neutralization tests the isolated virus represents a serological type distinct from bovine adenovirus types 1, 2 and 3 and from the Nagano virus. The isolated virus agglutinated erythrocytes of cattle, sheep, goat, guinea pig, rat, hamster and mouse, but not those of vervet monkey, horse, goose and chicken. HI test using cattle erythrocytes corroborated the results of serological typing by neutralization tests.     

Replication of Variola Virus in Suspended Cultures of Mammalian Cells

The studies reported here describe the successful propagation of variola virus in spinner cultures of mammalian cells, and the factors which influence its growth. Five established cell lines were used for the propagation of variola virus in a spinner culture system. Low doses of virus did initiate an infection but virus yields did not approach those obtained when an intermediate inoculum was used. Although the nonviable cell population remained low during the course of infection with an intermediate amount of virus, with an inoculum of 10⁵ infectious units per ml or higher, the percentage of nonviable cells increased rapidly and by the sixth day after infection the population was totally nonviable. Intracellular replication of variola virus occurred early and rapidly in a spinner culture of guinea pig lung cells, whereas the liberation of virus into the suspending medium was a more gradual process. Several complete medium changes tend to maintain a suitable environment for the infected cell culture resulting in fairly high and constant viral titers over a period of 7 days.     

Susceptibility of cell lines of primate and nonprimate origin to certain human viruses

A comparative study was made of the susceptibility of 11 cell lines of human and animal origin, the WI-38 cell strain and fresh cultures of human thyroid, monkey kidney and hamster embryo tissues to certain human viruses. The animal cell lines were derived from monkey, rabbit, mouse, pig and calf tissues. The viruses used were strains of influenza A₂ and B viruses, parainfluenza viruses types 1, 2 and 3, RS virus, adenoviruses types 3, 4 and 21, poliovirus type 1 and Coxsackie A type 21 and Coxsackie B type 3 viruses. Cell lines derived from nonprimate tissues were generally less susceptible than cell cultures of human and simian origin. The combined use of fresh cultures of human thyroid and monkey kidney tissues and of a human cell line seems to provide a satisfactory indicator system for the viruses employed in this study.     

Bovine Adenovirus

Two adenovirus strains were isolated in calf testicle cell cultures from blood specimens of cattle in Japan. This is the first isolation of bovine adenovirus reported in Japan. The isolates were antigenically similar to each other and distinct from the hitherto described serotypes 1, 2 and 3 of bovine adenovirus. Unfortunately, bovine adenovirus types 4 and 5 were not available for comparison, and hence, until the matter is settled, the virus will be called “Bovine adenovirus type Nagano”. Nagano virus was identified as adenovirus on the bases of the inhibitory effect of 5-iodo-2′-deoxyuridine on virus replication, ether-resistance, effect of temperature and pH on infectivity, and fine structure of the virus particle. The virus grew and formed intranuclear inclusion bodies, a characteristic of adenovirus, in bovine testicle cells but not in bovine kidney cells. The virus agglutinated rat erythrocytes very poorly, but not sheep, goat, cattle, horse, guinea pig, hamster, chicken, and mouse cells. The virus produced adenovirus group-specific antigen in cell cultures. Sero-negative calves were readily infected with the virus by the intravenous, subcutaneous, oral or intranasal routes of inoculation. The infected animals produced antibodies and showed a mild clinical reaction comprised of rhinorrhea, diarrhea and a degree of pyrexia; low-titered viremia of short duration and leukopenia were also observed. A serologic survey indicated wide-spread dissemination of the virus among Japanese cattle, but further studies are needed to determine the etiologic significance of the virus in the natural disease in cattle.     

Goat serum: an alternative to fetal bovine serum in biomedical research

Serum is frequently added to the defined basal medium as a source of certain nutritional and macromolecular growth factors essential for cell growth. Although a number of synthetic media have been prepared serum continues to be used in cell culture by many investigators. The best supplementation to a basal medium is fetal bovine serum (FBS) that is most frequently used for all types of cell cultures. During last four decades National Institute of Virology, Pune, has been working on isolation and identification of viruses from clinical specimens, employing tissue culture. Initially FBS was used for this purpose. However, due to its prohibitive cost and uncertain supply an alternative was sought. Commercially available sera from newborn calf, sheep, horse, human and serum obtained from goat blood (available from local abattoir) were tried. Goat serum (GS) was found to be suitable for most of the cell lines and primary cultures. Primary cultures from guinea pig embryo, monkey kidney, chick embryo, mouse peritoneal macrophages, and established cell lines were prepared and grown in growth media supplemented with GS. These cultures were studied for their morphology and growth in comparison with cultures grown in FBS containing media, and were used for mass cultivation of cells, quantitation and susceptibility of various virus strains, studies on effects of different nutrients and natural substances on cellular metabolism and virus replication, epitope analysis of various strains of Japanese encephalitis (JE) virus, strain differentiation studies, studies on antibody dependent plaque enhancement, assay of murine migration inhibition factor. Monoclonal antibodies against JE virus adapted to GS were characterised for their retention of functionalities. The results were comparable to those of cell cultures grown in FBS containing media. Similar results on chromosome studies were obtained from patient's whole blood cultures prepared in GS and FBS containing growth media. Organ cultures from mammalian, reptile and avian hosts; successfully grown in GS supplemented growth media, were used for different virological studies. Growth media supplemented with GS were used for in vitro cultivation of malarial parasites. Thus since the last three decades many scientists are using GS in place of FBS, in various fields of biomedical research. The present article reviews an account of the same.     

Selective and organotypic culture of intrahepatic bile duct cells from adult pig liver

Summary Secondary culture of nontransformed bile duct epithelium has been difficult to achieve. STO feeder cell-dependent secondary cultures of adult pig bile duct cells were established from primary cultures of adult pig liver cells. Adult pig hepatocytes exhibited limited or no replication and were lost from the secondary culture at Passage 3 or 4. In contrast, adult pig bile duct cells replicated and were carried for 4–8 passages in secondary culture. A simple method to produce nearly pure pig intrahepatic bile duct cultures was first to freeze a relatively crude liver cell preparation. Upon subsequent thawing, all hepatocytes and most macrophages were lysed. Bile duct cells composed 95% of the surviving cells after the freeze/thaw, and they grew out rapidly. The bile duct cells grew on top of the STO feeder cells as closely knit epithelial, colonial outgrowths. Histocytochemical and biochemical analyses demonstrated high levels of gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activity and low levels of P450 activity in the bile duct cultures. The bile duct cells spontaneously adopted a multicellular ductal morphology after 7–10 d in static culture which was similar to that found in in vivo pig liver. Transmission electron microscopic examination revealed complex junctions and desmosomes typical of epithelium, and lumenally projecting cilia typical of in vivo intrahepatic bile ductules. This simple method for the coculture of pig intrahepatic bile duct cells which adopt in vivo-like structure may facilitate biological studies of this important, but difficult to culture, cell type.     

Hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycoprotein as a determinant of pathogenicity in mumps virus hamster encephalitis: analysis of mutants selected with monoclonal antibodies.

With the aid of monoclonal antibodies directed against a specific site on the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase surface glycoprotein, four mutants of the Kilham neurotropic strain of mumps virus were isolated. All four mutants had increased neuraminidase activity. Two mutants (M10 and M12) lost their hemagglutination capacity with human O erythrocytes but retained their ability to agglutinate guinea pig erythrocytes at 4 degrees C. A third mutant (M11) showed a change in the molecular weight of the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycoprotein. These three mutants (M10, M11, and M12) showed unaltered capacity to infect tissue cultures and to cause encephalitis in newborn hamsters. A fourth mutant (M13) retained its hemagglutination activity and capacity to infect Vero cell cultures but showed significantly lower neurovirulence in the suckling hamster brain than did the parental Kilham strain and the other three mutants. Both the number of infected neurons and the amount of infectious virus in the brain was reduced. On the other hand, there were no apparent differences in the occurrence of viral antigen in ependymal cells, indicating a selective change in affinity for neurons in the brain. These results suggest that certain changes in the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase glycoprotein may lead to an alteration of the neuropathogenicity of the Kilham strain of mumps virus.     

Immunological relationships of an endogenous guinea pig retrovirus with prototype mammalian type B and type D retroviruses.

A retrovirus endogenous to guinea pig cells was earlier shown to be morphologically similar to type B and type D prototype retroviruses. Molecular hybridization techniques were used to show that guinea pig virus nucleotide sequences are endogenous to both domestic (Cavia porcellus) and indigenous (Cavia aperea) guinea pigs, but cannot be detected in the DNA of either other hystricomorph rodents or other mammals tested. Using radioimmunological techniques designed to detect interspecies relationships, the major internal polypeptide of guinea pig virus (p26) was shown to share three different sets of interspecies antigenic determinants with squirrel monkey retrovirus, viper retrovirus, and mouse mammary tumor virus. Thus, guinea pig virus appears to provide an evolutionary link between type B and D retroviruses.     

Production of macrophage migration inhibitory factor(s) (MIF) by virus-transformed cells

Rodent cell lines transformed by SV40, polyoma virus and Rous sarcoma virus cultured in vitro release material into the culture medium which inhibits the migration of guinea pig macrophages. Similar macrophage migration inhibitory factors (MIF) were not detected in cell-free supernatants harvested from untransformed cell cultures. Comparison of the MIF produced by virus-transformed cells with MIF derived from peripheral lymphocytes stimulated in vitro by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) revealed that they had similar molecular weights (25 000), heat stability and were both inhibited by α-fucose and lotus agglutinin. Incubation of MIF-containing cell-free supernatants from transformed cells with pancreatic trypsin inhibitor, soybean trypsin inhibitor and diisopropylfluorophosphate eliminated the MIF activity. The possible identity of the MIF released by transformed cells as a protease is discussed with reference to a potential role in modifying the surface properties of transformed cells.