DEVELOPMENT OF A SYNGENEIC BOVINE FIBROBLAST CELL-LINE - IMPLICATIONSFOR THE STUDY OF BOVINE CYTOTOXIC T-LYMPHOCYTES

The study of T-cell-mediated cytotoxicity in domestic animals, especia lly in cattle, has been hampered by the lack of proper restimulatory a s well as target systems, While the currently available bovine cell li nes have not been typed for the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules they express, methods to derive lines of cells obta ined from animals that are MHC-typed have not been thoroughly explored , In the present study, we describe a method for the development of ce ll lines from MHC-typed animals. Cells obtained from the skin of a cal f typed as bovine lymphocyte antigen-A11/-A13 were transfected with a plasmid containing the whole genome of simian vacuolating virus 40 (SV 40), A cell line was derived from the resultant transfectants, This ce ll line expressed bovine MHC class I molecules on the cell surface, an d SV40 large T antigen in the nucleus. The cells were permissive to th e replicative cycle of bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1), and the major gly coproteins of BHV-1 were expressed at expected times after infection, The present study should contribute to the study of cytotoxic T lympho cyte response of cattle to BHV-1 and other intracellular pathogens.