Gene Composition of High-Yielding Influenza Vaccine Strains Obtained by Recombination

Abstract

The genetic composition of 11 high-yielding recombinants of influenza virus was determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the 32P-labeled RNAs obtained from the recombinants and their parental viruses. The high-yield recombinants that were selected for potential use as vaccine strains contained the surface hemagglutinin and neuraminidase antigens of the low-yielding parental viruses. The increased growth capacity of the recombinants is associated with the presence of genes derived from the high-yielding laboratory strain A/Puerto Rico/8/34. Although increased growth capacity in these recombinants could not be attributed to specific genes or gene combinations, all of the high-yielding recombinants examined derived the M gene from the A/Puerto Rico/8/34 parent.

Characterization of the 1918 “Spanish” Influenza Virus Matrix Gene Segment

“…Replacing the matrix segment of human viruses with that of PR34 consistently results in a higher yield of the strain for vaccine development (2). The PR34 M1 gene has been shown to confer high-growth characteristics in single-gene reassortant strains (55).…”

Influenza A virus haemagglutinin polymorphism: pleiotropic antigenic variants of A/Shanghai/11/87 (H3N2) virus selected as high yield reassortants

“…However, antigenic differences demonstrated using polyclonal antibodies in hyperimmune sera have been described (Kilbourne, 1978;Both et al, 1983;Johansson & Kilbourne, 1992). Such differences have potential significance in the perennial fabrication of high yield (hy) influenza virus reassortants (Kilbourne, 1969;Baez et al, 1980) for use in vaccines against antigenic variants emerging in nature.…”

Antigenicity in hamsters of inactivated vaccines prepared from recombinant influenza viruses

“…In this approach to influenza virus vaccine production the assumption is made that the serum haemagglutination-inhibiting (HI) antibody titres induced by the vaccine are directly related to the virus antigen content of the vaccine, and that vaccines prepared from recombinant strains with high growth capacity and bearing the relevant surface antigens will constitute the best vaccines (Baez, Palese & Kilbourne, 1980). This is not necessarily true, since previous studies from this laboratory suggest that different recombinant viruses bearing the same surface antigens may vary significantly in their capacity to induce serum antibody in hamsters (Jennings & Potter, 1973;Jennings, Potter & McLaren, 1974).…”