In vitro infection studies with infectious laryngotracheitis virus.

Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) virus strains were studied for their ability to infect chicken macrophages, lymphocytes, and kidney cells in vitro. Although macrophages were as susceptible as chicken kidney cells to infection, replication of most virus strains in macrophages was markedly restricted. Only a few isolates induced progressive infections in macrophages, and even with these the donor of the macrophages influenced replication. Thus, it appears that both cell genotype and virus genotype may help determine the extent of restriction of virus replication. Macrophages were more susceptible to an attenuated vaccine strain of ILT virus than to virulent virus strains. Spleen lymphocytes, peripheral blood lymphocytes, thymocytes, bursal lymphocytes, buffy coat leukocytes, and activated T-cells were nearly or totally refractory to infection by ILT virus.