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Updated: Jun 11, 2026
Generation, Amplification, and Titration of Recombinant Respiratory Syncytial Viruses
Published on: April 4, 2019
A rapid microscopic method for the confirmation of rhinoviruses in cell culture
Gary P Leonardi1, Marie-Laure Desormeaux
1Department of Pathology and Laboratories, Nassau University Medical Center, East Meadow, NY 11554, USA. leonardi@numc.edu
Objective:
Culture-confirmation of rhinovirus is done using acid lability testing, a laborious and time-consuming method which delays the reporting of patient results by 1-2 days. A fluorescent monoclonal antibody pool (Light Diagnostics Pan-Enterovirus Blend; Millipore Inc., Temecula, Calif., USA) developed to identify various enterovirus isolates in culture was recently reported to also cross-react with rhinoviruses. We evaluated the use of this cross-reacting antibody, used in tandem with non-cross-reacting enterovirus antibodies (D(3) IFA; Diagnostic Hybrids Inc., Athens, Ohio, USA) to rapidly identify rhinoviruses in cell culture.
Methods:
Microscope slides were prepared from cell cultures of 11 rhinovirus clinical isolates and a variety of other respiratory viruses. Slides were stained using both enterovirus antibody pools and examined for fluorescent activity.
Results:
Positive fluorescence was observed in all the rhinovirus isolates tested using the pan-enterovirus antibody blend, but yielded negative results when stained using the D(3) antibodies. Both antibody products produced positive fluorescence for enterovirus isolates and produced negative results when a variety of other respiratory viruses were examined.
Conclusion:
Staining suspected rhinovirus isolates with each antibody pool affords a rapid means of identifying rhinoviruses and distinguishing them from enteroviruses, without the need for acid lability testing.
