Serological characterisation of human rotaviruses propagated in cell cultures

Abstract

Fourteen strains of human rotaviruses were propagated in MA 104 cell culture using serum-free medium containing 10 µg/ml trypsin. Eleven of the strains were provided by laboratories in Japan and the U.S.A., and the remaining three from our own laboratory. The serological relationships between these strains were determined by rotavirus subgroup-specific enzyme-immunoassays (ELISA) and neutralisation of infectivity with serotype-specific antisera. All the isolates clearly belonged to one of two subgroups, but four distinct serotypes were represented. Furthermore, the recently reported fourth serotype (ST4) and two isolates from Japan (Hochi and Hosokawa) appeared to be related to a South American rotavirus strain reported in 1978 as a probable fourth serotype.