Acridine orange metachromasia in the cytoplasm of simian rotavirus (SA-11)-infected MA-104 cell cultures.

Acridine orange metachromasia was used to determine the distribution of simian rotavirus double-stranded RNA in cultured MA-104 cells 0 to 72 h post-infection. Correlations were made among time of detection and amount of viral antigens, virus yield and the ultrastructural aspects of infected cells. RNAase-resistant cytoplasmic metachromasia appeared 48 h post-infection, 36 h after the initial detection of viral antigens or infectious virions and 24 h after the appearance of the cytopathic effect. Acridine orange staining is thus useful for monitoring the progress of rotaviral infection in cell cultures due to its simplicity and low cost, in spite of its lower sensitivity compared to other techniques evaluated