Establishment, characterization and viral susceptibility of 3 new cell lines from snakehead, Channa striatus (Blooch).

Three cell lines were established from muscle (SHMS), heart (SHHT) and swim bladder (SHSB) of snakehead (Channa striatus). The cells grew initially at 25 degrees C in L15 medium supplemented with 20% fetal bovine serum and have been subcultured 13-18 times since their initiation on June 25, 2002. Growth of the snakehead cells was serum-dependent and plating efficiencies ranged from 22-29%. These snakehead cells grew well in RPMI 1640 and L-15 media, which are commonly used for cultivation of animal and mammalian cells and retained 95.9-96.6% cell viability following storage for 4 months in liquid nitrogen. Karyotyping indicated that these snakehead-derived cell lines remained diploid with a chromosome count of 44 at their early passage (passage 8-14). These cell lines were sensitive to CCV, VHSV, SVCV, IPN and SHRV; they were refractory to IHNV. These newly established cell lines are currently being used for the investigation of snakehead viral diseases in Hawaii and will be available for future isolation and study of snakehead viruses.