Studies of metabolic changes in cell cultures infected with four serotypes of dengue fever viruses by frequency-pulsed electron-capture gas-liquid chromatography.

Monkey kidney cell cultures were infected with four serotypes of dengue viruses, and the supernatant fluids of the cell cultures were extracted for amines, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and hydroxy acids. The derivatized extracts were then analyzed by frequency-pulsed electron-capture gas-liquid chromatography (FPEC-GLC). FPEC-GLC profiles of the hydroxy acids showed peaks that were different for different serotypes and the FPEC-GLC carboxylic acid profiles differed from the control medium. These differences were reproducible when the same lot for medium was used. There were differences in profiles between lots of control media due apparently to different fetal bovine sera used in the growth medium. Therefore, the same lot of medium was necessary to reproduce profiles. The data obtained from the study indicate that FPEC-GLC can be used to detect changes in cellular metabolism caused by viral infection, and that these metabolic changes might be useful in detection of genetic differences in viruses as reflected by detectable changes in the metabolism of the infected cell.