Characterizing the BHK-21 C5 cell line and determining cellular sensitivity to rubella virus compared with the routine cell (RK13)

The World Health Organization has strict rules and recommendations on the selection and use of cell substrates in laboratories. Given the widespread use of safe and secure cell substrates in the production and quality control of viral vaccines and also the high demand for vaccines against viral diseases, obligating the selection of a suitable cell substrate for cultivation and production of biological products. Animal cell lines play a valuable role in the preparation and propagation of viral seeds; thus, the current study used the BHK-21 cell line among others for viral checking with the aim of replacing the BHK-21 C5 cell line with the RK13 cell line to investigate the cytopathic effects of the rubella virus. To this end, attempts were made to determine the characteristics of the BHK-21 C5 cell line including cell growth characteristics and sterility tests to validate its safety and security. Then, by culturing the cells in a 96-well microplate, titration of the rubella virus was subsequently performed by preparing serial dilutions of the virus from 10-1 to 10-5 and inoculated to cell lines in order to compare the sensitivity of BHK-21 C5 and RK13 cell lines to rubella virus. Data analysis according to the results of the tests by ahead default, p-value < 0/05 was equal to p-value = 0.01 based on SPSS analysis with the paired-sample t-test. In addition, the box-plot diagram indicated a significant difference between these cell lines. Based on the results, the BHK-21 C5 cell line seems to be more sensitive to the rubella virus than others. Therefore, it can be used for production and quality control of the vaccine and in research and diagnosis of rubella.