1. Chikungunya virus induces a more moderate cytopathic effect in mosquito cells than in mammalian cells.
- Author
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Li YG, Siripanyaphinyo U, Tumkosit U, Noranate N, A-nuegoonpipat A, Tao R, Kurosu T, Ikuta K, Takeda N, and Anantapreecha S
- Subjects
- Alphavirus Infections, Animals, Cell Line, Chikungunya Fever, Chlorocebus aethiops, In Situ Nick-End Labeling, Species Specificity, Vero Cells, Viral Load, Virus Replication physiology, Apoptosis, Chikungunya virus pathogenicity, Culicidae virology
- Abstract
Objectives: Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an alphavirus belonging to the Togaviridae family. Alphaviruses cause a chronic non-cytopathic infection in mosquito cells, while they develop a highly cytopathic infection in cells originating from various vertebrates. In this study, we compared the cytopathic effect (CPE) induced by CHIKV in Vero cells and a mosquito cell line, C6/36 cells., Methods: CPE and the virus titers were compared between the CHIKV-infected C6/36 and Vero cells. Apoptosis was measured by TUNEL assay, and the differences between the C6/36 and Vero cells were compared., Results: CHIKV infection induced strong CPE and apoptosis in the Vero cells, but light CPE in the C6/36 cells. The virus titers produced in the C6/36 cells were much higher than those produced in the Vero cells., Conclusions: The reason CHIKV induced strong CPE is that this virus triggers strong apoptosis in Vero cells compared with C6/36 cells. CHIKV established a persistent infection in C6/36 cells after being passaged 20 times. CHIKV infection in mosquito cells was distinct from that in Vero cells. The cell and species specificity of CHIKV-induced cell death implies that the cellular and viral regulators involved in apoptosis may play an important role in determining the outcome of CHIKV infection., (Copyright © 2012 S. Karger AG, Basel.)
- Published
- 2013
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