Establishment of a duck cell line susceptible to duck hepatitis virus type 1

Until recently, there was no cell line that could produce continuously high-titer duck hepatitis virus type 1 (DHV-1). In this study, a duck embryo fibroblast (DEF) cell line was established, and the susceptibility of this cell line to DHV-1 was determined. The primary culture of DEF cells was from a duck embryo that was partially digested with trypsin. Digested tissue pieces were cultured at 37 °C in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle Medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. The cultured DEF cells, which had the morphology of fibroblast, proliferated to 100% confluence four days later. An immortalized DEF cell line, named DEF-TA, was established and subcultured to passage 33, and the susceptibility of that cell line to DHV-1 was determined. In the DHV-1 susceptibility tests, cytopathic effects and the propagation of virus were observed in DEF-TA cells after DHV-1 infection. This continuous DHV-1-susceptible DEF cell line may serve as a valuable cell line for studies of cell–virus interactions and the pathogenesis of DHV-1 and may be useful for the development of an inactivated vaccine.

► A duck embryo fibroblast (DEF) cell line was constructed in this study.
► This continuous DEF cell line was susceptible to DHV-1 infection.
► This cell line may serve as a valuable tool for studies of cell–virus interactions and the pathogenesis of DHV-1.
► This cell line will be useful for the development of an inactivated vaccine.