Hepatitis A-virus in cell culture

Abstract

Hepatitis A-virus produced in Frhk-4/R cells is used and compared with stool-derived HAV as an antigen in diagnostic test systems. It is shown that the two antigens react identically in the anti-HAV test with anti-HAV-IgG positive human sera. In the anti-HAV-IgM test, too, stool-derived HAV and cell-culture-produced HAV react very similarly. The titres of anti-HAV-IgG and anti-HAV-IgM positive sera, obtained with stool and cell-culture HAV in quantitative antibody determinations, are shown to be identical. It is shown that the problem of HAV antigen production can now be solved by propagation of HAV with Frhk-4/R cells and that this antigen is very useful in diagnostic test systems.