title: Evidence of hepatitis E virus replication on cell cultures.
abstract: Several human and animal cell lines have been used to grow hepatitis E virus. The strain SAR-55 was adapted only on PLF/PLC/5 cell line without any visible cytopathic effect. The growth of the SAR-55 was monitored by examining the positive and the negative strands of HEV-RNA. Stool samples, obtained from hospitalised acute hepatitis patients at the Fever Hospital of Alexandria (Egypt), were used to confirm the susceptibility of PLF/PLC/5 cells. After more than one-week's cultivation, three stool samples out of 17 IgM anti-HEV positive and 1 from 52 IgG anti-HEV positive patients showed a specific RT-PCR amplification product. The nucleotide sequences of the methyltransferase region of the genome in the isolates revealed the maximum homology with Burma strain with several point mutations.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000821:virology*; D016752:Hepatitis E virus / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008780:Methyltransferases / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014776:Virus Cultivation; D014779:Virus Replication