Because of the lack of an animal model closely resembling the human case, cell culture studies of hantavirus have the potential to provide much useful information. However, there have been only several cell lines in which hantavirus can be grown,
and
the rate of viral multiplication was limited in cell cultures using the already known cell lines.
In order to determine whether there exist cell lines, in addition to those already known, in which hantavirus can be propagated, we directly inoculated the prototype Hantaan virus(strain 76-118) onto 23 cell lines. Hantaan virus was succesfully
propagated in a pig kidney cell line (ATCC CCL 33), 6 human hypernephroma cell lines(Caki-1, Caki-2, SNU-228, SNU-267, SNU-328, SNU-482), a human bladder tumor cell line(T-24), and 10 human hepatoma cell lines (Hep-3B, Hep-G2, SNU-182, SNU-354,
SNU-368,
SNU-387, SNU-423, SNU-449, SNU-475), all of which had not been previously found capable of hantavirus propagation. Specific antigens of viruses were identified b both indirect and direct immunofluorescent technique and immunoblot analysis. The
hantavirus genomic sequences were detected in some of the isolates by reverse transcriptase-directed polymerase chain reaction. The pattern of increasing infectivity, according to the days of virus culture, found in the cell lines of Hep G2,
Cdaki-1,
Caki-2, and SNU-482 was similar to that found in Vero-E6 cells. However, the values of tissue culture infective dose 50%(TCID50) determined for the infectivity assay in Hep-3B, Caki-2, AND snu-482 cell lines were lower than in Vero-E6 or A-549
cell
line.
In conclusion, 18 cell lines were newly identified in which hantavirus can be multiplied, and these were thought to be related with the involved organs in hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome(HFRS). Further studies using these cell lines will be
helpful in understanding the pathophysiology of HFRS.
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