Isolation and identification of Zika virus in MRC-5 cell line

Objective To culture, isolate and identify Zika virus in MRC-5 cell line.

Methods MRC-5 cell line was used for Zika virus isolation from seminal fluid sample collected from a laboratory conformed Zika virus infection case, the cytopathic effect was observed, and the isolate was identified with real-time PCR. The Zika virus strain was sequenced and evolutionary analysis was conducted.

Results The seminal fluid sample was cultured in MRC-5 cell line for three generations in blind passage. No obvious cytopathic effect was observed, but the real-time PCR result was positive. The Zika virus strain belonged to Asian genotype, which was named as Henan/001/2016 (GenBank No. MF593625). The strain was most close to Natal RGN strain genetically, the nucleotide homology and amino acid homology in E gene segment were 99.7% and 100% respectively.

Conclusion MRC-5 cell line is suitable for the isolation and identification of Zika virus.