Growth of the IB-RS-2 pig kidney cell line in suspension culture and its susceptibility to foot-and-mouth disease virus.

The adaptation of the pig kidney cell line IB-RS-2, clone 60, to growth in suspension culture is described. When fully adapted, an approximate threefold increase in viable cells was obtained within 72 hr from initial cell concentrations of 5 x 10(5) per ml in culture volumes up to 1,500 ml. The monolayer cells (99th passage level) used to initiate the suspension cultures and the fully adapted suspension cells were shown to have an aneuploid chromosome karyotype, whereas earlier monolayer cultures (32nd passage level) had a pseudodiploid karyotype. Replicate virus titrations in monolayers prepared from suspension-adapted cells, IB-RS-2 monolayer cells, BHK monolayer cells, and in suckling mice showed that the suspension cells had retained sensitivity to foot-and-mouth disease virus. The geometric mean peak infectivity of seven strains of foot-and-mouth disease virus grown in IB-RS-2 suspension cells was 10(8.2) plaque-forming units per ml, with a mean complement-fixing activity of approximately 135 complement-fixing units per ml. These preliminary results indicate that submerged cultures of these cells on an industrial scale may be useful for commercial foot-and-mouth disease vaccine production.