Semple, Shawna L.Vo, Nguyen T. K.Poynter, Sarah J.Li, M.Heath, Daniel D.DeWitte-Orr, Stephanie J.Dixon, Brian2018-11-142018-11-142018-12-01https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dci.2018.08.010http://hdl.handle.net/10012/14116The final publication is available at Elsevier via https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dci.2018.08.010 © 2018. This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Despite increased global interest in Chinook salmon aquaculture, little is known of their viral immune defenses. This study describes the establishment and characterization of a continuous cell line derived from Chinook salmon spleen, CHSS, and its use in innate immune studies. Optimal growth was seen at 14–18 °C when grown in Leibovitz's L-15 media with 20% fetal bovine serum. DNA analyses confirmed that CHSS was Chinook salmon and genetically different from the only other available Chinook salmon cell line, CHSE-214. Unlike CHSE-214, CHSS could bind extracellular dsRNA, resulting in the rapid and robust expression of antiviral genes. Receptor/ligand blocking assays confirmed that class A scavenger receptors (SR-A) facilitated dsRNA binding and subsequent gene expression. Although both cell lines expressed three SR-A genes: SCARA3, SCARA4, and SCARA5, only CHSS appeared to have functional cell-surface SR-As for dsRNA. Collectively, CHSS is an excellent cell model to study dsRNA-mediated innate immunity in Chinook salmon.enAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Cell lineChinook salmondsRNAInnate immunityInterferon-stimulated genespolyinosinic:polycytidylic acidArticle