Derived from a kidney of an apparently normal adult female cocker spaniel in September 1958 by S. H. Madin and N. B. Darby, the MDCK cell line was established in a medium consisting of 0.5% lactalbumin hydrolysate in Earle's BSS (95%) and bovine serum (5%). The initial cells, which appeared to be fibroblast-like, were removed from the culture six times at approximately 7-day intervals by partial trypsinization with trypsin-versene solution. The result was the establishment of epithelial-like cells which, although quite resistant to the action of trypsin, could be passaged serially without difficulty. The MDCK cell line, used at various passage levels in viral studies by A. Kniazeff et al., was shown to support the growth of vesicular exanthema virus of swine, vesicular stomatitis (Indiana Strain), infectious canine hepatitis, vaccinia, coxsackie B-5, adenoviruses, and reoviruses.

Culture Medium
Minimum essential medium (Eagle), with 10% heat-inactivated fetal bovine serum.

Growth Characteristics
Cells seeded at a concentration of 2x10⁴ cells/cm² in the above culture medium will be 100% confluent in 5 days.

Plating Efficiency
Approximately 35%.

Morphology
Epithelial-like.

Karyology
Chromosome Frequency Distribution 100 Cells: 2n = 78.

Species
Confirmed as canine by immunofluorescence.

Common Utilization
Isolation of influenza A, B.