Evaluation of a range of mammalian and mosquito cell lines for use in Chikungunya virus research

• Published in: Scientific reports 2017-11, Vol.7 (1), p.14641-13, Article 14641
• Main Authors: Roberts, Grace C., Zothner, Carsten, Remenyi, Roland, Merits, Andres, Stonehouse, Nicola J., Harris, Mark
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 13/106; 13/109; 14/1; 14/19; 631/326/596/1282; 631/326/596/2557; 82/80; A549 Cells; Aedes - virology; Animals; Antiviral agents; Aquatic insects; Cell lines; Cells, Cultured; Cellular biology; Cercopithecus aethiops; Chikungunya Fever - virology; Chikungunya virus; Chikungunya virus - pathogenicity; Fibroblasts; Genomes; Global health; HeLa Cells; Hep G2 Cells; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Immunofluorescence; In Vitro Techniques; Infections; Liver; Luciferases - metabolism; Mammals; Mosquitoes; multidisciplinary; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Transfection; Vector-borne diseases; Vero Cells; Viral Plaque Assay - methods; Virus Replication; Western blotting
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-15269-w

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is becoming an increasing global health issue which has spread across the globe and as far north as southern Europe. There is currently no vaccine or anti-viral treatment available. Although there has been a recent increase in CHIKV research, many of these in vitro studies have used a wide range of cell lines which are not physiologically relevant to CHIKV infection in vivo . In this study, we aimed to evaluate a panel of cell lines to identify a subset that would be both representative of the infectious cycle of CHIKV in vivo , and amenable to in vitro applications such as transfection, luciferase assays, immunofluorescence, western blotting and virus infection. Based on these parameters we selected four mammalian and two mosquito cell lines, and further characterised these as potential tools in CHIKV research.