title: Evaluation of the Calu-3 cell line as a model of in vitro respiratory syncytial virus infection.
abstract: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) replication is primarily limited to the upper respiratory tract epithelium and primary, differentiated normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE) have, therefore, been considered a good system for in vitro analysis of lung tissue response to respiratory virus infection and virus-host interactions. However, NHBE cells are expensive, difficult to culture, and vary with the source patient. An alternate approach is to use a continuous cell line that has features of bronchial epithelial cells such as Calu-3, an epithelial cell line derived from human lung adenocarcinoma, as an in vitro model of respiratory virus infection. The results show that Calu-3 fully polarize when grown on permeable supports as liquid-covered cultures. Polarized Calu-3 are susceptible to RSV infection and release infectious virus primarily from the apical surface, consistent with studies in NHBE cells. The data demonstrate that polarized Calu-3 may serve as a useful in vitro model to study host responses to RSV infection.
authors: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Division of Viral Diseases, Gastroenteritis and Respiratory Virus Lab Branch, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
authors: Jennifer L
authors: JL
authors: Harcourt
authors: Hayat
authors: H
authors: Caidi
authors: Larry J
authors: LJ
authors: Anderson
authors: Lia M
authors: LM
authors: Haynes
mesh_terms: D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002460:Cell Line; D016764:Cell Polarity; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000502:physiology / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D018113:Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D014776:Virus Cultivation; D014779:Virus Replication