Susceptibility of Four New Salmonid Cell Lines to Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis Virus

Abstract

Four salmonid cell lines, CoE 45, CoE 115, CoE 345, and RBTE 45, were established from embryonic tissues of coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch and rainbow trout O. mykiss. In vitro challenges of the new lines were conducted with four isolates of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV). Two of the IHNV isolates used for the challenges were derived from infected tissues of rainbow trout, one was derived from chinook salmon O. tshawytscha, and the other isolate was derived from coho salmon. To standardize the virus challenges of the new cell lines, several established piscine cell lines (EPC, CHSE 214, CSE-119, RTH-149, RTG, and RTS) were challenged in the same way as the new lines. Each of the lines was challenged with virus at a single low multiplicity of infection (0.01 plaque-forming unit per cell). Virus yields were quantitated by plaque assay on epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) cells on day 3. Results of the challenge experiments revealed different levels of production of virus for each isolate on the various cell lines. Overall, the new cell line derived from rainbow trout, RBTE 45, was quite susceptible to all viruses tested. The three cell lines newly derived from coho salmon embryo were not as resistant to the replication of IHNV as was the established coho salmon cell line, CSE-119. An established cell line, EPC, derived from an epithelial tumor of common carp Cyprinus carpio, remained the most susceptible to all four IHNV isolates tested.