Isolation of field rabies virus strains in CER and murine neuroblastoma cell cultures

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Virology
• Cell Culture Techniques
• Infectious Disease Diagnostics

Background:

• Rabies is a fatal viral zoonosis transmitted through the saliva of infected animals.
• Accurate and timely diagnosis of rabies is crucial for public health and animal management.
• Cell culture models offer a controlled environment for studying viral pathogenesis and developing diagnostic methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish and validate a cell culture-based method for detecting rabies virus infection.
• To assess the susceptibility of specific cell lines to rabies virus from diverse animal sources.
• To determine the efficacy of immunofluorescence for rapid rabies virus detection in vitro.

Main Methods:

• Inoculation of CER (canine epithelial cells) and murine neuroblastoma (clone N18) cell cultures with brain tissue homogenates from naturally rabid animals (skunks, dogs, equines, foxes, bats, cows).
• Incubation of inoculated cell cultures under appropriate conditions.
• Detection of rabies virus antigen using direct immunofluorescence assay (IFA) at regular intervals post-inoculation.

Main Results:

• Rabies virus infection was successfully established in both CER and N18 cell cultures.
• Infection was detectable by immunofluorescence as early as 2 days and up to 5 days post-inoculation.
• The cell culture system demonstrated sensitivity to rabies virus from a wide range of animal reservoirs.

Conclusions:

• CER and N18 cell cultures are susceptible to rabies virus from various animal species.
• Immunofluorescence is a rapid and effective method for detecting rabies virus in these cell cultures.
• This cell culture-based approach provides a viable diagnostic tool for rabies virus identification.