Adaptation of an Aedes aegypti mosquito cell line to growth at 15 degrees C and its response to infection by Sindbis virus

Abstract

Aedes aegypti mosquito cells, usually cultured at 28 to 30 degrees C, were adapted to grow at 15 degrees C. They were designated A. aegypti (c) cells, and had an estimated doubling time of 10 days. Sindbis virus (SV) replicated in these cells to peak titres of over 1.0 x 10(9) p.f.u./ml 8 to 10 days after inoculation. These, or about 10-fold lower titres, continued to be produced over a 130 day test period without causing visible cell damage. Continuous virus proliferation and the yield of uniformly large plaque forming progeny viruses are the two most important features which differentiate infection with this virus in A. aegypti (c) cells from that of A. aegypti cells grown at 28 degrees C (Peleg & Stollar, 1974). Absence of homologous interference vis-à-vis cell-virus coexistence suggests that homologous interference is not a prerequisite for maintaining cell-virus coexistence. Preinoculation of A. aegypti (c) cultures with a small plaque forming Sindbis virus (SV-S) leads, under certain conditions, to the establishment of homologous interference.