Replication of acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis viruses in conjunctival-corneal cell cultures of mice, rabbits, and monkeys.

Acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) viruses--enterovirus type 70 (E70), and coxsackie-virus type A24 (CA24)--infect the superficial cells of the conjunctiva and cornea. We examined the growth of several E70 and CA24 isolates in monkey, rabbit, and mouse conjunctival and corneal (C/C) cells. We found that E70 isolates grew well in monkey (10(6.5) TCID50/ml), rabbit (10(4.5) to 10(5.5) TCID50/ml), and mouse (10(3.5) to 10(6.0) TCID50/ml) C/C cultures and caused cytopathic effects (CPE). In contrast, CA24 isolates replicated well and caused CPE only in monkey C/C cultures (10(6.5) TCID50/ml). These results show that E70 isolates grow readily in monkey, rabbit, and mouse C/C cells whereas CA24 isolates replicated in monkey C/C cells only. This finding is consistent with the suggestion that a lower animal reservoir may be a source of human infection by E70. These cell culture systems may be useful for studying virus-cell interactions and host defenses operating at the surface of the eye and for evaluating the feasibility of prophylactic or therapeutic use of interferon, interferon inducers, and/or antibody for controlling AHC virus infections.