Ultrastructural studies on interaction of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) and aflatoxin B1 on chick embryo fibroblast cell culture.

Light and electron microscopic evaluation of chick embryo fibroblast (CEF) cell culture inoculated with graded doses (0.25, 2.5 and 25 micrograms/ml medium) of aflatoxin B1 with and without infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) was undertaken. The light microscopy revealed degeneration, detachment and necrosis of fibroblasts and multiple plaques formation in IBDV infected group without and with (0.25, 2.5 micrograms) aflatoxin B1. The cultures infected with virus, with or without 25 micrograms aflatoxin B1 showed complete detachment from glass surface. Electron microscopy of these cultures showed marked pyknotic or bizarre shaped nuclei, pronounced degenerative changes in the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), mitochondria and the presence of multiple vacuoles in the cytoplasm. The viruses were spherical, arrayed, complete, generally closer to nuclei and RER and indistinctly membrane bound. The viruses were either localised or scattered in the cytoplasm. Cultures containing 25 micrograms aflatoxin B1 without or infected with virus showed marked necrosis of cells. In latter group only a few viruses were seen either in infected cells or free in culture. Control cultures failed to show cytopathic changes as observed in the other three groups.