Studies on Cytotropism in Animal Viruses

Abstract

Summary Growth of influenza type A (strain PR8) was obtained in tissue cultures of liver and lung cells from chick embryos varying from 11–19 days of embryologic development, as well as in cultures of lung cells from chick embryos that were within a few hours of hatching. Although virus multiplication was found in tissue cultures of lung cells from hatched chicks, the levels reached were not as high as in similar embryo lung cultures. Virus growth occurred at both 37 and 41°C in embryo lung cultures but only at 37°C in cultures of lung cells of hatched chicks. It is suggested that the differences in virus growth obtained in these two systems are due to the dissimilarity in cell types predominating in the cultures—epithelial cells in the embryo lung cultures and fibroblast cells in the cultures of hatched chick lung cells.