PATHOGENICITY OF EQUINE HERPESVIRUS - INVIVO PERSISTENCE IN EQUINE TISSUE MACROPHAGES OF HERPESVIRUS TYPE-2 DETECTED IN MONOLAYER MACROPHAGE CELL-CULTURE

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 39  (9) , 1422-1427
Abstract
Equine macrophages from the mammary glands of a yearling filly and an 18 yr old barren nonlactating mare formed cell monolayers in continuous cultures. There was absence of viral cytopathic effect (CPE) in early cell culture passages. The cells from the early cell culture passages having no CPE failed to show evidence of virus or viral antigen by EM and immunofluorescence studies. Foci of CPE first appeared in the monolayer cell cultures from the filly and the mare in the 3rd and the 4th serial passages respectively, and the CPE increased on subsequent serial passages. Equine herpesvirus type 2 (EHV 2) was isolated and the viral antigen was detected in the cultures showing CPE. The macrophage monolayer culture established from the mare produced CPE foci more consistently than did the culture from the filly, and they were more numerous. Conversely, the peripheral blood mononuclear cells from the filly on cocultivation with an equine embryo kidney monolayer cell culture produced more EHV 2 CPE foci than did those from the mare. Thus tissue macrophages may be a site for latent and persistent herpesvirus infections in horses.