19] In vitro induction of interferon from guinea pig fibroblasts

Abstract

This chapter discusses the in vitro induction of interferon from guinea pig fibroblasts. The guinea pig is an attractive model for the studies of infectious disease, because cavids are larger than most rodents but relatively easy to care for and manipulate. The production and use of biological response modifiers in guinea pigs, however, have been frustrating due in part to the difficulties associated with the in vitro culture of guinea pig cells. Suspensions of guinea pig embryo cells are prepared from minced and gently trypsinized whole guinea pig embryos of about 30 days gestation by a previously published technique. Experiments with the production of crude guinea pig interferon show the critical role cell culture and type of viral inducers can have on interferon yields. It is clear from this work that not all antiviral substances produced by cell cultures behave as “classical” Type I interferons. It is strongly recommended that investigators attempting to induce interferon from uncharacterized animals or cell cultures initially avoid subjecting their preparation to heat, low pH, or other chemical and physical regimens to which interferons are “known” to be resistant.