Comparison of RD, L20B and Hep2 cell lines sensitivity to the standard poliovirus and Oral Polio Vaccine virus

As we are approaching the global eradication of wild poliovirus, laboratory surveillance of poliovirus by the gold standard cell culture method becomes increasingly important. As there is a lot of concern about accurate and sensitive detection of imported wild and Vaccine Derived Polioviruses (VDPVs) in Polio-Free countries, in this study we assessed and compared the sensitivity of the cell lines used in polio laboratory simultaneously to standard poliovirus and Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) polioviruses, to ensure the accurate detection of circulating and imported polioviruses in the society. Cell sensitivity test was performed according to the World Health Organization (WHO), Polio Laboratory Manual for RD, L20B and Hep2 cell lines using 3 serotypes of standard monovalent and OPV polioviruses. The test was repeated every four passages for all cell lines. The sensitivity of L20B and Hep2 cell lines for standard poliovirus type 1 and 2 is more than sensitivity for the same types of OPV virus but for poliovirus type 3 it is vice versa. Also RD cell line is more sensitive to all 3 types of OPV virus. In addition, the test showed that increasing the passage number will decrease the sensitivity of all cell lines. Using RD & L20B cell lines simultaneously (with low passage number) will assure us of sensitivity and accuracy of the cell lines for detection of circulating and imported polioviruses.