Simian rotavirus SA11 replication in cell cultures.

Understanding the basic virology of rotavirus infections has been hampered by the fastidiousness of most isolates and by the lack of a rapid quantitative assay method. The growth characteristics of the simian rotavirus SA11 were studied because it grows to high titers in tissue culture and infectivity can be quantitated by plaque assay. SA11 replication was analyzed in a variety of primary cell cultures or continuous cell lines derived from both homologous and heterologous hosts. Viral replication was observed in each of the cell cultured examined. The individual cell cultures demonstrated marked variability in their susceptibility to rotavirus infection. The highest titers were obtained with MA104, BSC-1, CV-1, and BGM cells. Observable cytopathic effect was found to correlate with the percentage of infected cells in the culture. This study presents growth curves of the simian rotavirus in a variety of cell cultures.