Cell Culture Isolation and Whole Genome Characterization of Hepatitis E Virus Strains from Wild Boars in Germany.

ABSTRACT: Infection with hepatitis E virus (HEV) can cause acute and chronic hepatitis in humans. The HEV genotype 3 can be zoonotically transmitted from animals to humans, with wild boars representing an important reservoir species. Cell culture isolation of HEV is generally difficult and mainly described for human isolates so far. Here, five sera and five liver samples from HEV-RNA-positive wild boar samples were inoculated onto PLC/PRF/5 cells, incubated for 3 months and thereafter passaged for additional 6 weeks. As demonstrated by RT-qPCR, immunofluorescence and immune electron microscopy, virus was successfully isolated from two liver samples, which originally contained high HEV genome copy numbers. Both isolates showed slower growth than the culture-adapted HEV strain 47832c. In contrast to t

SUBMITTER: Schilling-Loeffler K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8624179 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature