Use of Cell-Banked Monkey Kidney Cells for the Isolation of Respiratory Viruses. ∗

Abstract

Summary

A procedure for preparation of freezer-banked PMK cells has been described. Such cells provide a readily available source of SMK cell cultures of known characteristics in respect to growth and Simian viruses. The yield from one pair of monkey kidneys can provide seed for 5 to 7 thousand tubes of SMK cell cultures which may be made up and used as needed over a period of several months. The spectrum of viruses that will multiply and produce cytopathic changes or hemadsorption in such cell cultures appears to be similar to that in PMK cell cultures. In specific comparisons these cells appear to equal the sensitivity of PMK cells when used for the primary isolation of parainfluenza viruses types 1, 2, and 3.