Attachment and infection to MA104 cells of avian rotaviruses require the presence of sialic acid on the cell surface

To determine the characters of receptors on target cells for avian rotaviruses, the receptors on MA104 cells for the pigeon rotavirus PO-13, the turkey rotaviruses Ty-1 and Ty-3, and the chicken rotavirus Ch-1 were analyzed. Pretreatment of MA104 cells with neuraminidase greatly reduced the infection by all of the four avian rotavirus strains. Binding of the cell-attachment protein, purified VP8 expressed in bacteria, of strain PO-13 to MA104 cells was also inhibited by pretreatment of cells with neuraminidase. These findings suggest that avian rotaviruses primarily utilize sialic acid-containing molecules as receptors on MA 104 cells.