In vitro 1H NMR studies of RD human cell infection with Echovirus 11

The effects of echovirus 11 infection on RD human cell line (derived from rhabdomyosarcoma) were studied using H-1 NMR spectroscopy and optical microscopy. Both uninfected and infected cells consumed glucose and produced lactate, acetate and formate as extracellular metabolites. In infected whole cells, phosphocholine and uridine-sugar were observed in addition to the metabolites observed in uninfected cells. Water-soluble intracellular metabolites of infected cells showed glutamine, phosphocholine and glycine which were not observed in uninfected cells. Cellular metabolites except lipid components gradually decreased and disappeared during 24-48 h of viral infection. The quantity of lipid components in infected cells was comparable with that in uninfected cells, indicating that echovirus 11 does not utilize cell lipid molecules. Unlike optical microscopy, H-1 NMR spectroscopy identified early stages of infection through metabolic changes. These results may have potential implications in probing virus-cell interactions using NMR-based metabolomics. Copyright (0 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.