System for studying uninfected and virus-infected cell cultures in hyperbaric chambers

Equipment and techniques previously used to investigate the effect of hyperbaric gases on bacteria were modified to permit comparable investigations with uninfected and virus-infected tissue cell cultures. This report describes the modified equipment and related methodology. Use of the system is illustrated with findings on the effect of oxygen-helium mixtures at 68 atm on cell physiology and virus growth in two cell types. Our results suggested that, under those experimental conditions, several synthetic processes in chick fibroblast monolayers are inhibited but that Sindbis virus growth in the cells is increased. Growth of Japanese encephalitis virus in porcine kidney cells was found to be unaffected by oxygen-helium gas at partial pressures of oxygen between 0 and 700 mm Hg, but morphological alterations in the cells occurred at low and high pO(2) levels.