UIC-2011-018 – Saffold Virus -2 modified to propagate in mammalian cells

Saffold viruses (SafV) were discovered as a new group of human cardioviruses in 2007, and are closely related to Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV), which virally induces paralysis as well as encephalomyelitis comparable to Multiple sclerosis in mice. In contrast to TMEV, which is monotypic, SafV are geneticallydiverse including eight distinct genotypes. Most genotypes are difficult to propagate in mammalian cells, and thus, detection of SafV is rare. However, using an unconventional quantification method one study found three-fourths of adults were seropositive to SafV2 by comparing antibody titers in neutralized versus control virus lysates. These results could not be confirmed by tradition methods, such as neutralization or ELISA, because the SafV-2 virus could not be propagated in cell culture or purified. Thus, improved tools are needed to study SafV2, which is a potentially neurotrophic virus. Svetlana Kurilova skuril2@otm.uic.edu 312-355-1477