Ovine cell cultures: from a bioresource collection to veterinary biomanufacturing

Published data (PubMed, eLIBRARY.RU, CyberLeninka, 2000–2026) and previously published results of the author’s own research on ovine (Ovis aries) cell cultures held in the Specialised Collection of Continuous Somatic Cell Cultures of Farm and Commercial Animals at the Federal Scientific Centre VIEV were systematised. The virological and biotechnological uses of cell substrates within a single collection are usually reviewed separately. This review addresses that gap by considering both together through two culture groups. Lamb testicular cell culture (TC) and two mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) cultures of Romanov sheep — from bone marrow (deposit No. 95, 5th passage at deposit) and adipose tissue (deposit No. 100, 3rd passage at deposit) — are considered. The cultures form a complementary pair: TC, maintained beyond passage 50, is reported in the literature as a promising substrate for the isolation of capripoxviruses and diagnostic/research work with them, owing to its tropism for small-ruminant tissues, while MSCs are a resource for cell-based biotechnology in regenerative and reproductive veterinary medicine and, prospectively, a source of extracellular vesicles for cell-free biologics. Morphological and functional properties of the cultures were characterised. The bone-marrow and adipose-tissue MSCs have a diploid karyotype 2n=54, cloning efficiencies of 87 and 89%, and post-thaw viabilities of 84 and 90%, respectively. A comparative analysis against international bioresource collections (ATCC, ECACC, DSMZ) showed that none specialises in farm-animal cell cultures for veterinary virology purposes. The relevance of the maintained substrates is underscored by the broader epizootic situation with transboundary infections (foot-and-mouth disease, bluetongue, capripoxviruses) in the region. The VIEV collection thus forms a specialised infrastructural resource for domestic veterinary biomanufacturing.