Evaluation of the Calu-3 cell line as a model of in vitro respiratory syncytial virus infection

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jennifer L. Harcourt, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Hayat Caidi, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Larry Anderson, Emory University; Lia M. Haynes, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Language: English
• Date: 2011-06-01
• Publisher: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2011.
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jviromet.2011.03.027
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: JOURNAL OF VIROLOGICAL METHODS
• Volume: 174
• Issue: 1-2
• Start Page: 144
• End Page: 149
• Keywords: CHILDREN; Biochemistry & Molecular Biology; Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology; Biochemical Research Methods; Virology; PROTEIN; ACUTE BRONCHIOLITIS; Calu-3; PERSISTENCE; INFANTS; Science & Technology; CULTURE; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; Polarized cells; TRACT; POLARIZED EPITHELIAL-CELLS; REPLICATION; RSV; TRANSMISSION; Respiratory syncytial virus
• Research Categories: Biology, Virology; Biology, Microbiology; Biology, Cell

Abstract

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) replication is primarily limited to the upper respiratory tract epithelium and primary, differentiated normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE) have, therefore, been considered a good system for in vitro analysis of lung tissue response to respiratory virus infection and virus-host interactions. However, NHBE cells are expensive, difficult to culture, and vary with the source patient. An alternate approach is to use a continuous cell line that has features of bronchial epithelial cells such as Calu-3, an epithelial cell line derived from human lung adenocarcinoma, as an in vitro model of respiratory virus infection. The results show that Calu-3 fully polarize when grown on permeable supports as liquid-covered cultures. Polarized Calu-3 are susceptible to RSV infection and release infectious virus primarily from the apical surface, consistent with studies in NHBE cells. The data demonstrate that polarized Calu-3 may serve as a useful in vitro model to study host responses to RSV infection.