Innocuity testing of foot-and-mouth disease vaccines. I. Formaldehyde-inactivated alhydrogel vaccines

Conditions that contribute to efficient innocuity testing of formaldehyde (FA)-inactivated alhydrogel vaccines were investigated. Under our conditions good yields of 146S antigen were obtained if the antigen was eluted by potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) and concentrated by ultrafiltration. Non-inactivated virus added to the vaccine and adsorbed overnight could be recovered if residual FA was removed from the vaccine by washing the gel thoroughly with Frenkel culture medium before the addition of the virus. It was shown that the presence of high concentrations of inactivated virus in the concentrated eluate could prevent the detection of small amounts infectious virus in intradermolingual tests in cattle. This interference phenomenon was not found if (more susceptible) monolayers of foetal calf thyroid cells were used for the detection of virus. Intensive pre-washing of the gel with Frenkel culture medium, elution with potassium phosphate, concentration by ultrafiltration and the use of thyroid cells for the final detection of surviving virus is therefore advised for safety testing.     

Quantification of intact 146S foot-and-mouth disease antigen for vaccine production by a double antibody sandwich ELISA using monoclonal antibodies

A double antibody sandwich (DAS) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed to quantify 146S antigen of foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) strain A10 Holland grown in suspension cultures of surviving bovine tongue epithelium. When virus harvests were incubated with trypsin--which affects VP1, the most immunogenic structural protein of FMDV--the concentration of 146S antigen as determined by ELISA was reduced by greater than 90%. Therefore, the test detected essentially only those virus particles with intact VP1. When the test was compared with the sucrose density gradient method, concentrations of 146S antigen correlated well (r = 0.87). The rate of variation in both tests was the same. In contrast to the sucrose density gradient method, the DAS-ELISA can simultaneously quantify 146S antigen in many samples, and also indicates when VP1 of 146S particles has disintegrated by the action of proteases.     

Development and characterization of monoclonal antibodies to foot and mouth disease virus type 'C'

Five fusion experiments were conducted with spleen cells from Balb/c mice immunized with purified 146S antigen of foot and mouth disease virus type 'C' (vaccine strain). Monoclones (31) thus developed were isotyped as IgM (3), IgG1 (6), IgG2a (5), IgG2b (3) and IgG3 (14). Eleven clones isotyped as IgM, IgG2a and IgG2b showed neutralizing activity in virus neutralization and plaque reduction tests. Six of the neutralizing clones precipitated 146S virus in Ouchterlony reaction. On the basis of location of MAb reactive epitopes in relation to intact virus (146S), 12S particles and VP1 in ELISA test, the clones were classified as Class II (6), Class III (11) and Class IV (14). These clones may be useful for purposes of antigen detection from field isolates and for estimation of antibody titres in vaccinated animals.     

A simple immuno-capture ELISA to estimate rabies viral glycoprotein antigen in vaccine manufacture.

Rabies is an endemic, fatal zoonotic disease in the developing countries. Prevention and post-exposure therapy require safe and efficacious vaccines. The vaccine potency depends on the amount of immunogenic rabies viral glycoprotein antigen in the vaccine preparation. In order to estimate the rabies viral glycoprotein antigen, a specific monoclonal antibody was developed and used in an immuno-capture ELISA (IC-ELISA). The monoclonal antibody binds a conformational epitope on the natively folded rabies viral glycoprotein as indicated by specific, membrane fluorescence on unfixed, rabies virus infected murine neuroblastoma (MNA) cells and glycoprotein gene encoding plasmid transfected COS cells. In addition, the monoclonal antibody competes with and blocks a glycoprotein antigen site III binding monoclonal antibody (mAb-D1, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France). The monoclonal antibody was used in an IC-ELISA using an in-house standard to quantify the rabies viral glycoprotein antigen in 12 vaccine preparations with potency values ranging from 4 to 18 IU. The results indicated a good correlation with the NIH mouse potency assay (r=0.83). The immuno-capture ELISA described in this study can be used to quantify the immunogenic rabies viral glycoprotein antigen in the inactivated rabies viral antigen preparation in a simple and rapid format, which enables better vaccine formulation.     

Expression and characterization of chimeric hepatitis B surface antigen particles carrying preS epitopes.

Many studies have provided evidence that hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) including preS1 and preS2 sequences could be an ideal candidate for a new hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccine with higher efficacy. However, the large (L) protein containing the entire preS region expressed in mammalian cells is not efficiently assembled into particles and secreted. Here we report an alternative approach to include the dominant epitopes of preS1 and preS2 to the small (S) protein as fusion proteins by the recombinant DNA technology. Three fusion proteins containing preS2(120-146) and preS1(21-47) at the N-terminus and/or truncated C-terminus of S protein were expressed using the recombinant vaccinia virus system. All these fusion proteins were efficiently secreted in the particulate form, and displayed S, preS1 and/or preS2 antigenicity. Further analysis showed that these chimeric HBsAg particles elicited strong antibody responses against S, preS1 and preS2 antigens in BALB/c mice, suggesting that they could be promising candidates for a new recombinant vaccine to induce broader antibody response required for protection against hepatitis B viral infection.     

Bluetongue virus: Detection of antiviral immunoglobulin G by means of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed to detect antiviral IgG in the sere of sheep exposed to bluetongue virus. It was found that the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is a rapid and sensitive method for the detection of anti-bluetongue virus antibody. Bluetongue virus antigen prepared from extracts of virus infected BHK and Vero cells were equally effective. Antigen prepared from uninfected cells when used as coating antigen did not bind IgG from either exposed or unexposed animals. Sera raised against each of the four individual BTV serotypes, 10, 11, 13, and 17, found in the United States reacted equally with all four bluetongue virus serotype antigen preparations. Thus, any of the four serotypes can be used as the bluetongue virus antigen for the detection of anti-bluetongue virus antibody in the bluetongue virus-enzymelinked immunosorbent assay system. Antiviral IgG was readily detectable 6 days postinoculation. The anti-bluetongue virus antibody concentration continued to increase through the 35-day postinoculation test period. At 35 days postexposure, antibody titers of 1:1,600 to >1:3,200 were found. The rapid and sensitive nature of the bluetongue virus enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay indicates that this system should significantly extend serological studies on bluetongue virus.     

The stability and potency of vaccines prepared from inactivated foot-and-mouth disease virus concentrates

The stability of 146S particles in concentrates of foot-and-mouth disease virus stored at 4 degrees C was similar to that of 146S particles in a conventional virus preparation. Proteolytic degradation of VPl was not observed in the stored conventional virus preparation or inhibitor-supplemented concentrate but was observed in a supplement-free concentrate. The potencies of vaccines made from the conventional and concentrated preparations and stored in parallel at 4 degrees C appeared to decrease after 16 weeks. The vaccines made from the supplement-free concentrate and the Trasylol supplemented concentrate appeared to be at least as potent as the conventional vaccine and were clearly superior to vaccine made from ox serum supplemented concentrate.     

Optimization of conditions for preparation of the solid phase of infected cells in the immunoenzyme analysis of monoclonal antibodies

The conditions of immunoenzyme assay have been studied on the solid state phase of infected cells using the model of monoclonal antibodies MAK-14-7 to the virus of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VVEE) and monoclonal antibodies OKA-1 to vaccine virus in the systems of VNK-21 cells or 4647 cells infected by VVEE, or HeLa cells infected by vaccine virus. The titer of monoclonal antibodies detected grows with the dose of infected cells fixed in the holes of micropanel used for reaction and with the multiplicity of infection. The most intensive and contrasting dyeing of conjugate has been registered when the cells have been fixed with 0.25% glutaraldehyde 24 h after infection. The titers of ascytic preparations of monoclonal antibodies MAK-14-7 and OKA-1 under the optimal conditions of immunoenzyme assay reaction on the solid phase of infected cells present 1 : 10 000 and 1 : 100 000.     

Purification of filamentous plant viruses by thin layer centrifugation.

The construction of a modified thin layer ultracentrifuge rotor is described. This rotor was used in the purification of five filamentous plant viruses, viz. TMV, SCMV, PVX, SGV and YMC. The purification and concentration of these viruses in their monomeric forms is hazardous when conventional "tube" rotors are used since they invariably result in dissociation and aggregation of the virus particles. Using the thin layer rotor these infective agents may be concentrated in volumes of fluid equal to approximately 1% of the starting suspension and not as pellets obtained after ultracentrifugation is conventional "tube" rotors. Electron microscopy revealed that the virus particles concentrated by thin layer centrifugation were not aggregated and that only few fragments of the virus filaments were present in the final preparations.     

两种甲型肝炎病毒抗原快速检测方法的建立

目的建立两种甲型肝炎病毒抗原(HAV-Ag)检测试剂盒,并对其检测效果进行评价。方法生物素标记甲型肝炎病毒抗体(HAV-Ab)与辣根过氧化物酶标记亲和素联合应用建立甲型肝炎病毒抗原BA-ELISA检测法;同时使用辣根过氧化物酶标记HAV-Ab作放大系统建立双抗体夹心甲型肝炎病毒抗原ELISA检测试剂,对比两种检测方法的特异性、灵敏度及实际应用效果。结果用生物素标记甲型肝炎病毒抗体-辣根过氧化物酶标记亲和素作放大系统建立的甲型肝炎病毒抗原BA-ELISA检测法,较双抗体夹心ELISA检测方法灵敏度高1～2个稀释度;两种检测法均对10余种病毒无交叉,P/N值BA-ELISA检测法较高。结论甲型肝炎病毒抗原BA-ELISA检测法是一种灵敏度高,特异性好,方便快捷的检测方法,可广泛应用于甲型肝炎病毒研究及临床检测中。而甲型肝炎病毒抗原双抗体夹心ELISA检测法,检测灵敏度适中,操作简单,更适用于甲肝疫苗生产检定。     

MDCK细胞的悬浮驯化及初步应用

目的：驯化MDCK细胞使之适应悬浮培养,以之作为生产流感病毒疫苗的介质,为以细胞代替鸡胚制备流感病毒疫苗提供保证。方法：通过直接法和间接法分别驯化MDCK细胞,放大培养能悬浮生长的MDCK细胞,并以之作为介质培养流感病毒。结果：获得了能悬浮培养的MDCK细胞,其在悬浮条件下生长良好;以之作为载体培养流感病毒,可获得较高产量的病毒。结论：建立了悬浮培养的MDCK细胞,以之作为载体培养流感病毒可获得较高病毒滴度,为细胞培养生产流感病毒疫苗奠定了基础。     

Effect of the Fv-1 locus on the titration of murine leukemia viruses.

Titration of N- and B-tropic murine leukemia viruses on sensitive and resistant cell lines has been studied by direct XC plaque assay and infective center assay. The titration of cloned B-tropic virus by infective center assay on BALB/3T3 (Fv-1b/b) and NIH/3T3 (Fv-1n/n) cells gave one-hit patterns, with 100-fold less infected NIH/3T3 cells than BALB/3T3 cells. The titration of B-tropic virus on DBA/2 cells (Fv-1n/n) was also a one-hit. The titration of a one-hit curve, and there were about 100-fold less infected BALB/3T3 cells than NIH/3T3 cells. Comparable results were obtained by titrating the cloned N-tropic virus on congenic SIM (Fv-1n/n) and SIM.R (Fv-1b/b) cells or the Gross N-tropic virus on BALB/3T3 cells. Therefore, our data indicate that the multiple-hit phenomenon described previously may not be an essential part of the Fv-1 gene restriction.     

Quantitative Detection of the Foot-And-Mouth Disease Virus Serotype O 146S Antigen for Vaccine Production Using a Double-Antibody Sandwich ELISA and Nonlinear Standard Curves

The efficacy of an inactivated foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) vaccine is mainly dependent on the integrity of the foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) particles. At present, the standard method to quantify the active component, the 146S antigen, of FMD vaccines is sucrose density gradient (SDG) analysis. However, this method is highly operator dependent and difficult to automate. In contrast, the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is a time-saving technique that provides greater simplicity and sensitivity. To establish a valid method to detect and quantify the 146S antigen of a serotype O FMD vaccine, a double-antibody sandwich (DAS) ELISA was compared with an SDG analysis. The DAS ELISA was highly correlated with the SDG method (R² = 0.9215, P<0.01). In contrast to the SDG method, the DAS ELISA was rapid, robust, repeatable and highly sensitive, with a minimum quantification limit of 0.06 μg/mL. This method can be used to determine the effective antigen yields in inactivated vaccines and thus represents an alternative for assessing the potency of FMD vaccines in vitro. But it still needs to be prospectively validated by analyzing a new vaccine preparation and determining the proper protective dose followed by an in vivo vaccination-challenge study to confirm the ELISA findings.     

The influence of homologous vs. heterologous challenge virus strains on the serological test results of rabies virus neutralizing assays

The effect that the relatedness of the viral seed strain used to produce rabies vaccines has to the strain of challenge virus used to measure rabies virus neutralizing antibodies after vaccination was evaluated. Serum samples from 173 subjects vaccinated with either purified Vero cell rabies vaccine (PVRV), produced from the Pittman Moore (PM) seed strain of rabies virus, or purified chick embryo cell rabies vaccine (PCECV), produced from the Flury low egg passage (Flury-LEP) seed strain of rabies virus, were tested in parallel assays by RFFIT using a homologous and a heterologous testing system. In the homologous system, CVS-11 was used as the challenge virus in the assay to evaluate the humoral immune response in subjects vaccinated with PVRV and Flury-LEP was used for subjects vaccinated with PCECV. In the heterologous system, CVS-11 was used as the challenge virus in the assay to evaluate subjects vaccinated with PCECV and Flury-LEP was used for subjects vaccinated with PVRV. Although the difference in G protein homology between the CVS-11 and Flury-LEP rabies virus strains has been reported to be only 5.8%, the use of a homologous testing system resulted in approximately 30% higher titers for nearly two-thirds of the samples from both vaccine groups compared to a heterologous testing system. The evaluation of equivalence of the immune response after vaccination with the two different vaccines was dependent upon the type of testing system, homologous or heterologous, used to evaluate the level of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies. Equivalence between the vaccines was achieved when a homologous testing system was used but not when a heterologous testing system was used. The results of this study indicate that the strain of virus used in the biological assays to measure the level of rabies virus neutralizing antibodies after vaccination could profoundly influence the evaluation of rabies vaccines.     

Serum-Free Suspension Culture of MDCK Cells for Production of Influenza H1N1 Vaccines

Development of serum-free suspension cell culture processes is very important for influenza vaccine production. Previously, we developed a MDCK suspension cell line in a serum-free medium. In the present study, the growth kinetics of suspension MDCK cells and influenza virus production in the serum-free medium were investigated, in comparison with those of adherent MDCK cells in both serum-containing and serum-free medium. It was found that the serum-free medium supported the stable subculture and growth of both adherent and suspension cells. In batch culture, for both cell lines, the growth kinetics in the serum-free medium was comparable with those in the serum-containing medium and a commercialized serum-free medium. In the serum-free medium, peak viable cell density (VCD), haemagglutinin (HA) and median tissue culture infective dose (TCID₅₀) titers of the two cell lines reached 4.51×10⁶ cells/mL, 2.94Log₁₀(HAU/50 μL) and 8.49Log₁₀(virions/mL), and 5.97×10⁶ cells/mL, 3.88Log₁₀(HAU/50 μL), and 10.34Log₁₀(virions/mL), respectively. While virus yield of adherent cells in the serum-free medium was similar to that in the serum-containing medium, suspension culture in the serum-free medium showed a higher virus yield than adherent cells in the serum-containing medium and suspension cells in the commercialized serum-free medium. However, the percentage of infectious viruses was lower for suspension culture in the serum-free medium. These results demonstrate the great potential of this suspension MDCK cell line in serum-free medium for influenza vaccine production and further improvements are warranted.     

Rubella Virus: Continuous and Concurrent Production of Complement-fixing Antigen and Infectious Virus in Suspension Cultures

Rubella complement-fixing (CF) antigen and infectious virus were produced continuously and concurrently for as long as 63 days in suspension cultures of BHK-21 cells prepared from uncloned monolayer stock cultures. CF titers ranged from 1:4 to 1:32, and the peak infectivity titer was greater than 8.0 (TCID(50) log(10)) per ml. Suspension cultures could be recultivated after prolonged storage in liquid nitrogen. The resulting monolayer or suspension cultures also produced CF antigen. Suspension cultures provide an effective system for the long-term continuous and concurrent production of rubella virus diagnostic reagents.     

Rapid and sensitive anthrone-sulfuric acid assay in microplate format to quantify carbohydrate in biopharmaceutical products: method development and validation.

The need for an accurate, fast and reliable analysis of carbohydrate test is crucial for numerous biological processes. In that sense, anthrone-sulfuric acid assay is one of the most efficient quantification techniques successfully applied to carbohydrate determination. In this paper, a sensitive and accurate anthrone-sulfuric acid microplate assay was developed and validated for the quantitative estimation of yeast carbohydrates in the production of hepatitis B virus surface antigen, and the main component of the recombinant vaccine HEBERBIOVAC HB. A response surface methodology was applied to design and optimize the assay in order to maximize the differences on the expected effect and to minimize the number of experiments. The proposed method was linear over the concentration range from 10 to 120 microg/mL for glucose, with values for the coefficient of determination >0.99. Intra- and inter-assay variation coefficient ranged between 0.45-4.79% and 2.48-8.94%, respectively. The Student t-test used in the interference study, revealed good parallelism among curves (T(obs)< or =T(0.05)), which indicates the lack of interference in the working range. Yields obtained in accuracy test for two concentration levels varied between 90 and 105%, confirming the assay's reliability. In conclusion, the validated method, which has successfully been used for the process control monitoring of several samples generated from the production of hepatitis B vaccine, allows the quality and purity of the final product.     

19. Purification of Filamentous Plant Viruses by Thin Layer Centrifugation (Applied to TMV,SCMV, PVX,SCV, and YMC Viruses)

ABSTRACT

The construction of a modified thin layer ultracentrifuge rotor is described. This rotor was used in the purification of five filamentous plant viruses, viz. TMV, SCMV, PVX, SCV and YMC. The purification and concentration of these viruses in their monomeric forms is hazardous when conventional "tube" rotors are used since they invariably result in dissociation and aggregation of the virus particles. Using the thin layer rotor these infective agents may be concentrated in volumes of fluid equal to approximately 1% of the starting suspension and not as pellets obtained after ultracentrifugation in conventional "tube" rotors. Electron microscopy revealed that the virus particles concentrated by thin layer centrifugation were not aggregated and that only few fragments of the virus filaments were present in the final preparations.     

Cultivation of Tuleniy virus (strain Murman) in vitro.

In vitro culturability of Murman strain of Tuleniy flavivirus isolated recently in the northern regions of the USSR was studied. Stable PS pig kidney line was found suitable as a primary sensitive cell substrate for the isolation, proliferation and serial propagation of the virus. The pronounced pathogenicity of the virus to PS cells permits the testing of its infective activity comparable with i.c. titrations on mice, VNT in vitro and the plaquing technique. PS line is suitable for the demonstration and identification of the virus antigen and/or for the study of reproduction of the virus on cellular level using the technique of immunofluorescence.     

Isolation of a Sindbis virus variant by passage on mouse plasmacytoma cells.

A variant of Sindbis virus has been isolated by growing a stock of virus, previously passaged on chicken embryo cells, in mouse plasmacytoma (MOPC 315) cells in suspension culture. An indirect immunofluorescence test and infective center assay showed that only a small fraction of cells could be infected by the stock wild-type virus, but that the population of virus accumulating after a few passages on the mouse cells had host-range properties distinct from the stock virus. The mouse-passaged virus retained its virulence for the original host and back-passaging of this virus on chicken cells did not change its newly acquired properties. Thus, this variant appears to be a genetically distinct form of Sindbis that adsorbs to and grows much better than the stock virus on several types of mouse cells including cultures of mouse macrophages.