Enterotropic mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) strains have been difficult to grow in cell culture. In an attempt to develop an efficient in vitro cultivation system for enterotropic MHV strains (MHV-RI and MHV-Y), 8 murine cell lines were inoculated with MHV-RI- or MHV-Y-infected infant mouse intestinal homogenates and screened for the production of cytopathic effects. MHV-RI and MHV-Y consistently produced cytopathic effects only in J774A.1 cells. Both strains produced titers of 106 TCID50/ml in subsequent passages in J774.1 cells. MHV strains -1, -3, -A59, -JHM, -S and -DVIM also produced high-titer viral stocks in J774A.1 cells. Therefore J774A.1 cells are the first cells found that support the replication of these 8 enterotropic and respiratory MHV strains. After passage in J774A.1 cells, MHV-RI and MHV-Y could infect previously non-susceptible cell lines (17C1-1, CMT-93, N18 and NCTC 1469), though cytopathic effects were often negligible with MHV-RI. MHV-Y, but not MHV-RI, grew in L2(Percy) cells. Using L2(Percy) cells, an agarose overlay and Giemsa staining, MHV-Y could be quantified by plaque assay. Infant mouse bioassays, plaque assays and cell culture infections were compared for their sensitivity in detecting MHV-Y in infected intestinal homogenates and cell supernatants. © 1995.
year ⏰ 1995
issn 🗄 01660934
volume 52
number 3
page 301-307
citedbycount 5
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