Interaction of pseudorabies virus with immortalized porcine B cells: influence on surface class I and II major histocompatibility complex and immunoglobulin M expression.

We examined whether the L14 cell line, an immortalized B cell line originating from inbred miniature pigs of the MHC haplotype d/d, could be useful to study T cell responses of pigs to pseudorabies virus (PRV). Compared with porcine kidney cells, the replication of PRV in L14 cells was slower and yielded lower quantities of infectious virus, which agrees with the reported poor replication of PRV in peripheral blood lymphocytes of swine. The virus yield and the number of L14 cells expressing the viral glycoprotein gE were both maximal at 48 h postinfection, when approximately 90% of all viable L14 cells expressed gE. Morphologically detectable effects of PRV replication in L14 cells were not obvious, but the number of viable cells at 72 h postinfection was lower in infected cultures than in uninfected cultures. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and II antigen expression was significantly higher at different time points postinfection on infected than on uninfected L14 cells. In contrast, expression of IgM appeared very slightly reduced on infected L14 cells, indicating a selective influence of PRV on cellular protein expression. PRV-infected L14 cells were lysed by lymphocytes from PRV-immune minipigs of MHC haplotype d/d, indicating their usefulness in in vitro cytolytic assays.