Action of quail and chicken interferons on a quail cell line, QT35.

Production of interferon (IFN) in quail cells (QT35) and the activity of quail IFN and heterologous avian IFN (chicken) on QT35 cells were examined. Quail cells produced IFN after induction by bluetongue virus serotype 10; chicken and quail IFN conferred antiviral resistance on the quail cells. Both chicken and quail IFN induced increased levels of 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (2',5'-OAS) in QT35 cells and reduced levels of intracellular Salmonella typhimurium postchallenge. These results indicate that the quail cells produce IFN and respond to homologous and heterologous avian IFN as evidenced by enhanced (1) resistance to viral infection, (2) production of 2',5'-OAS, and (3) resistance to invasion by bacteria. QT35 quail cell monolayer cultures offer an alternative to primary chicken embryo fibroblasts cultures used for avian IFN studies.