Studying how influenza viruses cause disease just got a little easier, thanks to a new tool developed at South Dakota State University.
Scientists have been using cells from chickens, dogs, monkeys and hamsters to study influenza viruses that infect pigs and humans. Now they can use cell cultures from the tissues of swine nasal passages, tracheas and lungs to study any of the four influenza viruses—A, B, C or D.
“The outcomes of these primary cells relate closely to what’s happening inside the animal,” said postdoctoral research associate Chithra Sreenivasan, who developed the cell cultures as part of her dissertation research. The study results were published in the February 2019 Virology journal. Article images are featured on the cover.