REPLICATION OF INFLUENZA-A VIRUSES IN A GREEN MONKEY KIDNEY CONTINUOUS CELL-LINE (VERO)

A Vero cell line was investigated as a suitable host system for primary isolation and cultivation of influenza A viruses. The efficiency of primary isolation for currently circulating (H3N2) strains was similar in Vero and MDCK cells. Of 72 egg-adapted strains investigated, 90.3% were detectable by hemagglutinin (HA) titration in Vero cells after the first passage and 51.4% after the second. The amino acid sequences of the HA1 region of influenza A viruses isolated and passaged in Vero cells were identical to those of their MDCK-grown counterparts. At low MOI, high yields of influenza virus were achieved in Vero cells by multiple additions of trypsin to the medium. After 20 passages of A/England/1/53 (H1N1) in Vero cells, the titer of infectious virus was 8.37 log(10) TCID50/mL, and virus protein yields were as high as in MDCK cells.