Examination of Adult Primary Human Kidney Cell Cultures for Adventitious Viral Agents 1

Summary Twelve primary adult human kidney cell cultures were examined by several techniques for the presence of adventitious viral agents. Although no definite cytopathic effects were observed in 11 of the cell cultures, 7 of these exhibited suspicious fluorescent foci after staining by the indirect fluorescent-antibody technique 4 to 7 weeks after initiation of the cultures. Electron microscopy (EM) studies, utilizing negative staining and thin sections, were done on several of the cell cultures, but no virus particles were observed. Passage attempts in primary and continuous cell cultures did not reveal the presence of transmissible viral agents in any of the 11 cell cultures. One cell culture, obtained from a 58-year-old male who died shortly after a myocardial infarction, showed cytopathic changes 28 days after initiation. EM examination of the cell pellet showed typical adenovirus particles which were identified as a type 2 adenovirus. In contrast to observations with subhuman primate tissues, latent or adventitious agents do not appear to be readily detected in adult human kidney cell cultures.