Establishment of an immortal cynomolgus macaque fibroblast cell line for propagation of cynomolgus macaque cytomegalovirus (CyCMV)

Arch Virol. 2013 May;158(5):955-65. doi: 10.1007/s00705-012-1568-4. Epub 2012 Dec 12.

Abstract

Cynomolgus macaques are widely used as an animal model in biomedical research. We have established an immortalized cynomolgus macaque fibroblast cell line (MSF-T) by transducing primary dermal fibroblasts isolated from a 13-year-old male cynomolgus macaque with a retrovirus vector expressing human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT). The MSF-T cells showed increased telomerase enzyme activity and reached over 200 in vitro passages compared to the non-transduced dermal fibroblasts, which reached senescence after 43 passages. The MSF-T cell line is free of mycoplasma contamination and is permissive to the newly identified cynomolgus macaque cytomegalovirus (CyCMV). CyCMV productively infects MSF-T cells and induces down-regulation of MHC class I expression. The MSF-T cell line will be extremely useful for the propagation of CyCMV and other cynomolgus herspesviruses in host-derived fibroblast cells, allowing for the retention of host-specific viral genes. Moreover, this cell line will be beneficial for many in vitro experiments related to this animal model.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Line
  • Cytomegalovirus / growth & development*
  • Fibroblasts / virology*
  • Macaca
  • Telomerase / genetics
  • Telomerase / metabolism
  • Transduction, Genetic
  • Virus Cultivation / methods

Substances

  • Telomerase