The influence of cell culture and storage conditions on HIV-1 infectivity and fusogenic activity.

We have previously demonstrated that acidic medium inhibits the replication of HIV-1. The present study was designed to examine the effects of other growth conditions and infection of fibroblasts by coculture with HIV infected lymphoid cells. Several lymphoblastoid cell lines normally grown in RPMI-1640 were grown in Eagle's MEM. These cells supported virus replication to higher titres than did RPMI-1640. Peak viral titres were achieved within 24-48 h after newly infected or chronically infected cells were placed in fresh medium. When virus was stored in liquid medium either frozen or at higher temperatures, virus titres were retained for several months while frozen but decreased upon storage at 4 degrees C or higher. If cells were passaged after trypsinization in Ca(++)-depleted medium, then a decreased susceptibility of cells for HIV-1 by 2 log10 at 24 h post infection was observed. Infectivity of cell-free and cell-associated HIV-1 was measured using syncytium formation, reverse transcriptase activity and p24 antigen. No fusion between HIV-1 infected CD4+ lymphoblasts and CD4- fibroblasts was observed but HIV-1 infected lymphoid cells, even in the absence of syncytium formation, exerted a strong toxic effect on fibroblasts. This study extends previous findings that medium acidity was inhibitory to virus replication and survival. Thus, conditions for study of HIV must be well controlled in buffered medium so that misleading results are not obtained regarding virus multiplication and possibly regarding transmission to and pathogenesis in CD4- cells.