Article

Susceptibility of common fibroblast cell lines to transmissible spongiform encephalopathy agents.

Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana 59840, USA.
The Journal of Infectious Diseases (impact factor: 6.41). 03/2004; 189(3):431-9. DOI:10.1086/381166 pp.431-9
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT The risk of contamination of tissue culture cells with transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) agents as a result of the use of animal products as medium components has been considered to be low, in part, because only a few brain-derived cell lines have been reported to be susceptible to TSE infection. In the present study, we demonstrate that the common laboratory fibroblast cell lines NIH/3T3 and L929, which express low levels of cellular mouse prion protein, are susceptible to infection with mouse-adapted scrapie. Our results show that the susceptibility of a cell line to TSE infection cannot be predicted on the basis of its tissue origin or its level of expression of the cellular prion protein, and they suggest that any cell line expressing normal host prion protein could have the potential to support propagation of TSE agents. Thus, testing of cells for TSE susceptibility might be necessary for all cell lines that are routinely used in vaccine production and in other medical applications.

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Keywords

brain-derived cell lines
 
cell line
 
cell lines
 
cellular mouse prion protein
 
cellular prion protein
 
common laboratory fibroblast cell lines NIH/3T3
 
contamination
 
express low levels
 
medical applications
 
medium components
 
mouse-adapted scrapie
 
normal host prion protein
 
support propagation
 
tissue origin
 
transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
 
TSE
 
TSE agents
 
TSE infection
 
TSE susceptibility
 
vaccine production
 

Ina Vorberg