Vero dogSLAM cells under the microscope

Working with viruses in the lab

Working with viruses in the laboratory can be a little tricky.

Unlike bacteria, viruses cannot be grown in a media culture. Viruses lack some important enzyme to replicate themselves and need to hijack them from the cells they are infecting. That is why we have to use cell cultures to isolate, maintain and multiply viral particles in the lab. Not just any cells can be used; they need some special properties to be useful for this purpose. One of the most important ones is that the cell line needs to be immortal, which means the they will never stop multiplying. Another vital point is that cells need to be susceptible to the viruses with which you plan to work.

In the Keel laboratory we use Vero cells, is a lineage that was developed in the 60s from monkey, kidney, epithelial cells. Our cells also express dogSLAM, which is used by Canine Distemper Virus to attach and infect the cells.