Utility of human neural cells and cell lines for anti-viral vaccine research and development

Specific cell types such as neurons, astrocytes, and microglial cells can be isolated from a mixed population of human foetal brain cells and cultured for extended periods. The rapid expansion of cell populations occurring during culture has accommodated the large-scale growth and production of various neurotropic viruses. Furthermore, neural cell lines derived from CNS tumours or by the immortalization of primary cells have also been established and used for studies of viral pathogenesis. The potential to generate and expand selected populations of neural-derived cells should provide a new and abundant substrate for the production of viruses in vaccine development.