Tendon-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells (TDSCs) as an In Vitro Model for Virological Studies in Wild Birds
José Rivas,
Axel Dubois,
Aude Blanquer,
Mazarine Gérardy,
Ute Ziegler,
Martin H. Groschup,
Luc Grobet,
Mutien-Marie Garigliany
Affiliations
José Rivas
Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Laboratory of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Sart Tilman B43, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
Axel Dubois
Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Laboratory of Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Sart Tilman B43, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
Aude Blanquer
Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Laboratory of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Sart Tilman B43, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
Mazarine Gérardy
Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Laboratory of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Sart Tilman B43, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
Ute Ziegler
Institute for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
Martin H. Groschup
Institute for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Südufer 10, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany
Luc Grobet
Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Laboratory of Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Sart Tilman B43, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
Mutien-Marie Garigliany
Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health (FARAH), Laboratory of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Liège, Sart Tilman B43, B-4000 Liège, Belgium
The use of wild animals in research is complicated due to the capture and housing conditions, as well as to legal aspects, making it difficult to develop in vivo and in vitro models for the study of pathologies that affect these species. Here we validate an in vitro model of tendon-derived mesenchymal cells (TDSC) from Eurasian blackbird (Turdus merula) cadaveric samples. Through the expression of surface markers and the ability to differentiate into multiple lineages, the nature of the cells was confirmed. We then evaluated Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) as an infection model for the Usutu Flavivirus. To this aim, blackbird TDSCs were compared to Vero E6 cells, commonly used in Flavivirus studies. Both cells showed permissiveness to USUV infection as confirmed by immunocytochemistry. Moreover, TDSCs exhibited replication kinetics similar to, although slightly lower than, Vero E6, confirming these cells as a pertinent study model for the study of the pathogenesis of USUV. In this work, we isolated and characterized tendon-derived mesenchymal stem cells, which represent an interesting and convenient in vitro model for the study of wildlife species in laboratories.
