Serial propagation and purification of chicken Anaemia agent in mdcc‐MSB1 cell line

Abstract

The TK‐5803 strain of an agent which induces chicken anaemia was propagated and titrated in cultures of the MDCC‐MSB1 cell line. When the isolates (tentatively designated MSBI‐TK‐5803 strain) from the original material were inoculated into 1‐day‐old susceptible chicks, they showed a severe pathogenicity, inducing anaemia with aplasia of the bone marrow and atrophy of the lymphoid organs. On density gradient separation, the peak of their infectivity titre appeared at a density of 1.35 to 1.36 g/cm³ and numerous virus particles were demonstrated in the same fraction. The agent was resistant to heating for 30 min at 60°C and 50% chloroform for 15 min at 4°C, and passed through a 25 nm membrane filter, but it was completely inactivated after heating for 30 min at 70°C or more. The purified virus particles were spherical or hexagonal in shape and 19.1 ± 0.2 nm in diameter.