title: Pathogenicity of a quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)-derived Marek's disease virus rescued from the QT35 cell line.
abstract: The QT35 cell line was established in 1977 from methylcholanthrene-induced tumors in Japanese quail. It was later shown that at least some of the QT35 cell lines were latently infected with Marek's disease (MD) virus (MDV). An MDV-like herpesvirus, named quail MDV (QMDV), was isolated from QT35 cells in 2000 by Yamaguchi et al. To determine the pathogenicity of QMDV, we inoculated 10-day-old specific-pathogen-free chickens with QMDV JM (virulent), RB-1B (very virulent), or 584A (very virulent plus). In addition, we inoculated 5-day-old Japanese quail with QMDV, JM, or RB-1B. QMDV is pathogenic in chickens with a tumor incidence comparable to JM. QMDV also caused MD in three out of 18 infected Japanese quail. In conclusion, QMDV is a virulent MDV, and its presence in QT35 cells has implications for the use of QT35 cells for vaccine production.
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Reproduction, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of California at Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
authors.forename: Kelly L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: Crucillo
authors.forename: Karel A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Schat
authors.forename: Ynte H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Schukken
authors.forename: Amy E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Patricia S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Wakenell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002645:Chickens; D003370:Coturnix / Q000821:virology*; D008381:Herpesvirus 2, Gallid / Q000145:classification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D008380:Marek Disease / Q000821:virology*; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms; D014774:Virulence