Enhanced susceptibility of porcine muscle-derived mesenchymal stem cells to Aujeszky’s virus compared Vero cells

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can self-renew and differentiate into several lineages and can be isolated from different tissues such as bone marrow, adipose tissue, umbilical cord blood, and muscle. Herein, we established MSCs derived from miniature pig muscle (MpMu-MSCs) and assessed their response to Aujeszky's virus. We characterized the MpMu-MSCs based on their cellular morphology, proliferation properties, cell surface marker expression, and mesodermal differentiation potential. MpMu-MSCs demonstrated a fibroblast-like spindle shape and formed a homogeneous monolayer. They showed a considerable increase in cell proliferation over 16 passages. The cells expressed surface markers CD29, CD44, CD90, and CD105 and demonstrated mesodermal lineage differentiation capabilities. MpMu-MSCs demonstrated faster cytopathic effects than the Vero cells when infected with Aujeszky's virus. The virus titer in MpMu-MSCs was initiated at 10^1.4 TCID₅₀/ml at 12 h post-infection (hpi) and increased to 10^6.6 TCID₅₀/ml at 72 hpi. In Vero cells, it was initiated at 10^2.3 TCID₅₀/ml at 48 hpi and increased to 10^3.8 TCID₅₀/ml at 72 hpi. This study showed that the stem cells procured from miniature pig muscles exhibit MSC characteristics and that the established cells demonstrate higher susceptibility and virus titer to Aujeszky's virus than Vero cells, indicating their potential use in virus research.