Restricted growth of avirulent avian reovirus strain 2177 in macrophage derived HD11 cells

The replication of two pathotypes of avian reovirus, 1733 and 2177 in transformed chicken lymphoid and myeloid cell lines was examined, showing that only the macrophage cell line, HD11, supports replication. The virulent strain 1733 causes a lytic infection producing 100–1000 fold more virus than the avirulent strain 2177. Cells infected with strain 2177 display delayed viral RNA and protein synthesis as well as a suppressed expression of the major capsid protein μB. These features may contribute to the lower virulence of the strain 2177 in their natural host in vivo.