CHRONIC INFECTION OF PORCINE EMBRYO KIDNE Y-CELL (PS) CULTURE WITH HEPATITIS-C VIRUS

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) circulating in patients' blood acquired cytopa thogenic properties after infection of suckling mouse brain cells. HCV infection of PS cells was studied for 11 months. Three stages of infe ction were distinguished: noncytocidal infection, poorly manifest dest ruction of PS cells, and intensive cytodestruction and cell repopulati on. Persistent HCV was steadily released in PS culture and caused dest ruction of BHK-21, Vero, PS, HAK, sad chick embryo cells. Infective ti ters of HCV in culture fluid collected from these cultures were 10.0 = 11.0 lg TCD50/0.2 ml. Cytopathogenic activity of HCV regularly confir med by the polymerase chain reaction was neutralized by anti-HCV-posit ive sera of patients with hepatitis C. Persistent HCV formed heterogen eous plaques in chick embryo fibroblast cultures and agglutinated goos e erythrocytes. Indirect immunofluorescence demonstrated that 25 to 45 % of infected cells contained virus-specific antigens. The PS-HCV syst em holds the best promise for theoretical and practical studies of hep atitis C.