Production of herpes simplex virus from MRC-5 cells grown in a glass bead culture system

The failure of microcarrier systems to provide significant quantities of infectious Herpes simplex virus (HSV) for vaccine production purposes led to an assessment of glass bead column cultures for this requirement. Glass bead columns giving approximately 12000 cm2 culture surface areas have been inoculated at various densities with MRC-5 cells, grown to confluency (as determined by steady state glucose utilization) and infected with HSV. The culture system proved at least as effective as comparable roller bottle cultures.