Vero Cell

Vero cells are a lineage of cells used in cell cultures. The 'Vero' lineage was isolated from kidney epithelial cells extracted from an African green monkey (''Chlorocebus'' sp.; formerly called ''Cercopithecus aethiops'', this group of monkeys has been split into several different species). The lineage was developed on 27 March 1962, by Yasumura and Kawakita at the Chiba University in Chiba, Japan. The original cell line was named '' Vero'' after an abbreviation of , which means 'green kidney' in Esperanto, while itself means 'truth' in Esperanto.

Characteristics

The Vero cell lineage is continuous and aneuploid, meaning that it has an abnormal number of chromosomes. A continuous cell lineage can be replicated through many cycles of division and not become senescent.
Vero cells are interferon-deficient; unlike normal mammalian cells, they do not secrete interferon alpha or beta when infected by viruses. However, they still have the Interferon-alpha/beta receptor, so they respond normally when recombinant interferon is added to their culture media.

The whole genome sequence of a Vero cell line was determined by Japanese investigators in 2014. Chromosome 12 of Vero cells has a homozygous ~9-Mb deletion, causing the loss of the type I interferon gene cluster and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors ''CDKN2A'' and ''CDKN2B'' in the genome. Although African green monkeys were previously classified as '' Cercopithecus aethiops'', they have been placed within the genus ''Chlorocebus'', which includes several species. The genome analysis indicated that the Vero cell lineage is derived from a female '' Chlorocebus sabaeus''.

Uses in research

Vero cells are used for many purposes, including:
* screening for the toxin of ''Escherichia coli'', first named "Vero toxin" after this cell line, and later called " Shiga-like toxin" due to its similarity to Shiga toxin isolated from ''Shigella dysenteriae''
* as host cells for growing viruses; for example, to measure replication in the presence or absence of a research pharmaceutical, the testing for the presence of rabies virus, or the growth of viral stocks for research purposes. As a recent example, CoronaVac, COVID-19 vaccine developed by Sinovac Biotech uses vero cells in production and "Vero" term can be seen on the vaccine container.
* as host cells for eukaryotic parasites, specially of the trypanosomatids

Lineages

* Vero
ATCC No. CCL-81

:Isolated from ''C. aethiops'' kidney on 27 Mar 1962
* Vero 76
ATCC No. CRL-1587

:Isolated from Vero in 1968, it grows to a lower saturation density (cells per unit area) than the original Vero. It is useful for detecting and counting hemorrhagic fever viruses by plaque assays.
* Vero E6, also known as Vero C1008
ATCC No. CRL-1586

:This line is a clone from Vero 76. Vero E6 cells show some contact inhibition, so are suitable for propagating viruses that replicate slowly.
* Research strains transfected with viral genes:
:Vero F6 is a cell transfected with the gene encoding HHV-1 entry protein glycoprotein-H (gH). Vero F6 was transfected via a concatenated plasmid with the ''gH'' gene after a copy of the HHV-1 glycoprotein-D (gD) promoter region. In Vero lineage F6, expression of ''gH'' is under the control of the promoter region of gD. (Also F6B2; obs. F6B1.1)

See also

* HeLa cells
* Immortalised cell line

References

External links

Cellosaurus entry for VeroCellosaurus entry for Vero 76Cellosaurus entry for Vero C1008Cellosaurus entry for Vero F6

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vero Cell
Monkey cell lines