Comparative study of Vero Cell growth and virus infection in two different Serum-Free Medium (SFM)

elongated shape in VP-SFM, in comparison with a slightly branched characteristic in Pro Vero-1 in the first 48h. Once confluent, they recovered their characteristic square shape, similar to cultivation in 199 medium. However, after 72 h of culture, VP-SFM medium presented a better performance and adaptation than ProVERO-1, probably due to the absence of epidermal growth factors in the latter. Cultures in VP-SFM medium showed similar performance to Vero cell cultures in 199 medium, although with different morphological characteristics in the first 24 h. However, neither VP-SFM nor ProVERO-1 reached the yields achieved by CHIKV production in 199 culture media at 48 h post infection. Conclusion : The results showed that Vero cell lineage was able to grow in both culture media tested, although the VP-SFM medium showed better performance, regarding adaptation and viral production when compared with ProVERO-1. For the production of CHIKV in Vero cells, however, data suggest the need for optimization of the conditions, since the parameters used in this preliminary study were standardized for production in medium supplemented with FBS.