Comparative Evaluation of the Foot-and-Mouth Disease Virus Permissive LF-BK αVβ6 Cell Line for Senecavirus A Research

Senecavirus A (SVA) is a member of the family Picornaviridae and enzootic in domestic swine. SVA can induce vesicular lesions that are clinically indistinguishable from Foot-and-mouth disease, a major cause of global trade barriers and agricultural productivity losses worldwide. The LF-BK αVβ6 cell line is a porcine-derived cell line transformed to stably express an αVβ6 bovine integrin and primarily used for enhanced propagation of Foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV). Due to the high biosecurity requirements for working with FMDV, SVA has been considered as a surrogate virus to test and evaluate new technologies and countermeasures. Herein we conducted a series of comparative evaluation in vitro studies between SVA and FMDV using the LF-BK αVβ6 cell line. These include utilization of LF-BK αVβ6 cells for field virus isolation, production of high virus titers, and evaluating serological reactivity and virus susceptibility to porcine type I interferons. These four methodologies utilizing LF-BK αVβ6 cells were applicable to research with SVA and results support the current use of SVA as a surrogate for FMDV.