Bacterial Ribonuclease (Binase) Promotes Decontamination of MDBK Cell Cultures From Bovine Diarrhea Virus

Abstract

Mammalian cell cultivation is a technique that has played a crucial role in the development of biology, medicine, veterinary medicine, and pharmacology. Cell and tissue cultures are used as model systems in both the study of the mechanisms of pathogenesis of various diseases and the assessment of the effectiveness and toxicity of new drugs. They are frequently employed in the production of vaccines and biopharmaceuticals and play a part in assisted reproductive technologies. One of the factors that disrupt the stability of cell lines, thus affecting the results obtained and limiting the possibility of their application, is the contamination of cell cultures by various microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and mycoplasmas. According to a recent review, the bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) is one of the most frequent and problematic contaminations occurring in animal and human cell cultures. Bacterial ribonuclease (binase) has shown considerable antiviral potential, and its activity against several viruses in vitro and in vivo has been reliably proven. In the present study, we present experimental results that demonstrate the role of bacterial ribonuclease (binase) in the contamination of cultures of bovine cell lines by cytopathogenic BVDV. According to these results, the treatment of infected Madin–Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells with binase led to a dose-dependent reduction in the level of viral RNA and infectious titer, thereby confirming the antiviral properties of the enzyme in vitro. Binase in concentrations of 100 to 300 μg/ml, which are nontoxic for cultures of MDBK cells, allowed to reduce the viral titer by 0.77 to 1.57 lg, correspondingly. Our results confirm the feasibility of using binase for the decontamination of cell cultures provided that the optimal modes of binase treatment are applied.