Influenza A viruses obtained from Vero cells by reverse genetics.

2004 APR 7 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- High-yielding influenza A viruses obtained from African green monkey kidney (Vero) cells by reverse genetics.

"Influenza A viruses are the cause of annual epidemics of human disease with occasional outbreaks of pandemic proportions. The zoonotic nature of the disease and the vast viral reservoirs in the aquatic birds of the world mean that influenza will not easily be eradicated and that vaccines will continue to be needed. Recent technological advances in reverse genetics methods and limitations of the conventional production of vaccines by using eggs have led to a push to develop cell-based strategies to produce influenza vaccine," scientists writing in the Journal of Virology report.

"Although cell-based systems are being developed, barriers remain that need to be overcome if the potential of these systems is to be fully realized," said Hiroichi Ozaki and colleagues at the St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis. "These barriers include, but are not limited to, potentially poor reproducibility of viral rescue with reverse genetics systems and poor growth kinetics and yields. In this study we present a modified A/Puerto Rico/8/34 (PR8) influenza virus master strain that has improved viral rescue and growth properties in the African green monkey kidney cell line, Vero. The improved properties were mediated by the substitution of the PR8 NS gene for that of a Vero-adapted reassortant virus."