Foot and mouth disease virus replication in bovine skin Langerhans cells under in vitro conditions detected by RT-PCR.

The replication of foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV) was studied in isolated bovine skin Langerhans cells (LC), in keratinocytes from epidermal cell suspension, and in migrating LC obtained from cultured bovine epidermal sheets in vitro. Viral RNA replication in infected cells was determined by the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of the negative FMDV RNA strand and by the plaque forming assay of FMDV. It was established that bovine skin LC, keratinocytes, and migratory bovine LC infected with FMDV strain 01 Geshur supported virus replication. This RT-PCR method to detect the negative strand of FMDV RNA in migratory bovine skin LC may be useful for determining FMD virus replication in tissue cells.