New cell lines for efficient propagation of koi herpesvirus and infectious salmon anaemia virus

The production of piscine viruses, in particular of koi herpesvirus (KHV, CyHV-3) and infectious salmon anaemia virus (ISAV), is still challenging due to the limited susceptibility of available cell lines to these viruses. A number of cell lines from different fish species were compared to standard diagnostic cell lines for KHV and ISAV regarding their capability to exhibit a cytopathic effect (CPE) and to accumulate virus. Two cell lines, so far undescribed, appeared to be useful for diagnostic purposes. Fr994, a cell line derived from ovaries of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), produced constantly high ISA virus (ISAV) titres and developed a pronounced CPE even at high cell passage numbers, while standard cell lines are reported to gradually loose these properties upon propagation. Another cell line isolated from the head kidney of common carp (Cyprinus carpio), KoK, showed a KHV induced CPE earlier than the standard cell line used for diagnostics. A third cell line, named Fin-4, established from the fin epithelium of rainbow trout did not promote efficient replication of tested viruses, but showed antigen sampling properties and might be useful as an in vitro model for virus uptake or phagocytosis.