Susceptibility of various cell culture systems to bovine viral diarrhea virus

A comparative study was carried out on the susceptibility of primary bovine embryo kidney (pBEK) cell cultures and those of three other cell culture systems, i.e., primary calf testicle (pCT) cells and two cell lines, one of which originated from bovine embryonic trachea (EBTr) and the other from buffalo lung (IMR-31), to bovine viral diarrhea (BVD) virus. The virus titers obtained in the three culture systems under study did not differ significantly from those of pBEK cells. Moreover, the growth curve study demonstrated thad the pCT cells, as well as the two cell lines, were similar to the pBEK cultures in their susceptibility to the virus. Accordingly, it appeared reasonable to conclude that pCT, EBTr and IMR-31 cell cultures possess the general requirements for use in studies on the BVD virus. However, inasmuch as the cytopathic effects (CPE) produced by the EBTr and the IMR-31 cell lines did not display any distinctive characteristics typical of BVD virus-induced CPE, it is recommended that the two cell lines not be used for isolation of the virus from specimen material.