scholarly journals 2556. Retrospective Evaluation of Mismatch From Egg-Based Isolation of Influenza Strains Compared With Cell-Based Isolation and the Possible Implications for Vaccine Effectiveness

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S69-S69 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Rajaram ◽  
Josephine Van Boxmeer ◽  
Brett Leav ◽  
Pirada Suphaphiphat ◽  
Ike Iheanacho ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mdck Cells ◽  
Glycosylation Site ◽  
Vaccine Effectiveness ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
H3n2 Virus ◽  
Wild Type Virus ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Research Support ◽  
Antigenic Similarity ◽  
H3n2 Vaccine

Abstract Background Lower influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) against circulating H3N2 strains compared with other influenza viruses is partly explained by antigenic mismatch between circulating strains and the vaccine strain (Belongia 2016). This mismatch has recently been linked to a new glycosylation site introduced in the egg-adaptation step (Zost 2017) and HA L194P substitution (Wu 2017) for H3N2. Vaccine manufactured using seed virus wholly grown in mammalian (e.g., Madin–Darby Canine Kidney—MDCK) cells, as with the NH17-18 version of Flucelvax®, avoids these mutations. Preliminary reports suggest that this cell-based vaccine showed greater VE than did similar egg-based vaccines [FDA Statement]. This study aimed to compile existing data on antigenic similarity to measure the degree of match with circulating wild-type isolates of egg- and MDCK-propagated versions of the vaccine H3N2 virus over multiple seasons. Methods Using publicly available reports from the Worldwide Influenza Centre, London (Crick), we compiled data on antigenic similarity, defined as H3N2 circulating wild-type virus isolates showing no more than a 4-fold reduction in titer to antisera raised against wholly MDCK- or egg-propagated versions of the vaccine H3N2 viruses. Titers were compared using hemagglutination inhibition (HI) assays and/or plaque reduction neutralization assays (PRNA). Results Data from Northern Hemisphere influenza seasons of 2011–2012 to 2017–2018 show a substantially higher proportion of tested circulating influenza H3N2 viruses matched the MDCK-propagated reference viruses than did corresponding egg-propagated reference vaccine viruses (Figures 1 and 2). In half of the seasons evaluated, there was little to no antigenic similarity between circulating viruses and the egg-based vaccine viral seed. Conclusion These data suggest higher levels of mismatch have occurred consistently with egg-propagated H3N2 reference viruses compared with MDCK-propagated reference viruses when measured against circulating wild-type isolates and may further explain the potential for lower VE observed against H3N2 historically. Furthermore, these data point to the importance of continuing to utilize cell-derived seeds in creating seasonal influenza vaccines for this strain. Disclosures S. Rajaram, Seqirus: Employee, Salary. J. Van Boxmeer, Seqirus: Employee, Salary. B. Leav, Seqirus: Employee and Shareholder, Salary. P. Suphaphiphat, Seqirus: Employee, Salary. I. Iheanacho, Seqirus: Consultant, Research support. K. Kistler, Seqirus: Consultant, Research support.

scholarly journals Contemporary H3N2 influenza viruses have a glycosylation site that alters binding of antibodies elicited by egg-adapted vaccine strains

2017 ◽  
Vol 114 (47) ◽  
pp. 12578-12583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seth J. Zost ◽  
Kaela Parkhouse ◽  
Megan E. Gumina ◽  
Kangchon Kim ◽  
Sebastian Diaz Perez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Influenza ◽  
Influenza Season ◽  
Antigenic Site ◽  
Glycosylation Site ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
Antibody Responses ◽  
H3n2 Virus ◽  
Viral Strain ◽  
H3n2 Influenza ◽  
H3n2 Vaccine

H3N2 viruses continuously acquire mutations in the hemagglutinin (HA) glycoprotein that abrogate binding of human antibodies. During the 2014–2015 influenza season, clade 3C.2a H3N2 viruses possessing a new predicted glycosylation site in antigenic site B of HA emerged, and these viruses remain prevalent today. The 2016–2017 seasonal influenza vaccine was updated to include a clade 3C.2a H3N2 strain; however, the egg-adapted version of this viral strain lacks the new putative glycosylation site. Here, we biochemically demonstrate that the HA antigenic site B of circulating clade 3C.2a viruses is glycosylated. We show that antibodies elicited in ferrets and humans exposed to the egg-adapted 2016–2017 H3N2 vaccine strain poorly neutralize a glycosylated clade 3C.2a H3N2 virus. Importantly, antibodies elicited in ferrets infected with the current circulating H3N2 viral strain (that possesses the glycosylation site) and humans vaccinated with baculovirus-expressed H3 antigens (that possess the glycosylation site motif) were able to efficiently recognize a glycosylated clade 3C.2a H3N2 virus. We propose that differences in glycosylation between H3N2 egg-adapted vaccines and circulating strains likely contributed to reduced vaccine effectiveness during the 2016–2017 influenza season. Furthermore, our data suggest that influenza virus antigens prepared via systems not reliant on egg adaptations are more likely to elicit protective antibody responses that are not affected by glycosylation of antigenic site B of H3N2 HA.

scholarly journals Assessing the Viral Fitness of Oseltamivir-Resistant Influenza Viruses in Ferrets, Using a Competitive-Mixtures Model

2010 ◽  
Vol 84 (18) ◽  
pp. 9427-9438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aeron C. Hurt ◽  
Siti Sarah Nor'e ◽  
James M. McCaw ◽  
Helen R. Fryer ◽  
Jennifer Mosse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
Mutant Virus ◽  
Viral Fitness ◽  
Relative Fitness ◽  
H3n2 Virus ◽  
Wild Type Virus ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Type Virus ◽  
Wild Type

ABSTRACT To determine the relative fitness of oseltamivir-resistant strains compared to susceptible wild-type viruses, we combined mathematical modeling and statistical techniques with a novel in vivo “competitive-mixtures” experimental model. Ferrets were coinfected with either pure populations (100% susceptible wild-type or 100% oseltamivir-resistant mutant virus) or mixed populations of wild-type and oseltamivir-resistant influenza viruses (80%:20%, 50%:50%, and 20%:80%) at equivalent infectivity titers, and the changes in the relative proportions of those two viruses were monitored over the course of the infection during within-host and over host-to-host transmission events in a ferret contact model. Coinfection of ferrets with mixtures of an oseltamivir-resistant R292K mutant A(H3N2) virus and a R292 oseltamivir-susceptible wild-type virus demonstrated that the R292K mutant virus was rapidly outgrown by the R292 wild-type virus in artificially infected donor ferrets and did not transmit to any of the recipient ferrets. The competitive-mixtures model was also used to investigate the fitness of the seasonal A(H1N1) oseltamivir-resistant H274Y mutant and showed that within infected ferrets the H274Y mutant virus was marginally outgrown by the wild-type strain but demonstrated equivalent transmissibility between ferrets. This novel in vivo experimental method and accompanying mathematical analysis provide greater insight into the relative fitness, both within the host and between hosts, of two different influenza virus strains compared to more traditional methods that infect ferrets with only pure populations of viruses. Our statistical inferences are essential for the development of the next generation of mathematical models of the emergence and spread of oseltamivir-resistant influenza in human populations.

scholarly journals Characterization of Human Influenza Virus Variants Selected In Vitro in the Presence of the Neuraminidase Inhibitor GS 4071

1998 ◽  
Vol 42 (12) ◽  
pp. 3234-3241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chun Y. Tai ◽  
Paul A. Escarpe ◽  
Robert W. Sidwell ◽  
Matthew A. Williams ◽  
Willard Lew ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Neuraminidase Inhibitor ◽  
H3n2 Virus ◽  
Wild Type Virus ◽  
Type Virus ◽  
Human Influenza ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Viral Virulence ◽  
High Level

ABSTRACT An oral prodrug of GS 4071, a potent and selective inhibitor of influenza neuraminidases, is currently under clinical development for the treatment and prophylaxis of influenza virus infections in humans. To investigate the potential development of resistance during the clinical use of this compound, variants of the human influenza A/Victoria/3/75 (H3N2) virus with reduced susceptibility to the neuraminidase inhibitor GS 4071 were selected in vitro by passaging the virus in MDCK cells in the presence of inhibitor. After eight passages, variants containing two amino acid substitutions in the hemagglutinin (A28T in HA1 and R124M in HA2) but no changes in the neuraminidase were isolated. These variants exhibited a 10-fold reduction in susceptibility to GS 4071 and zanamivir (GG167) in an in vitro plaque reduction assay. After 12 passages, a second variant containing these hemagglutinin mutations and a Lys substitution for the conserved Arg292 of the neuraminidase was isolated. The mutant neuraminidase enzyme exhibited high-level (30,000-fold) resistance to GS 4071, but only moderate (30-fold) resistance to zanamivir and 4-amino-Neu5Ac2en, the amino analog of zanamivir. The mutant enzyme had weaker affinity for the fluorogenic substrate 2′-(4-methylumbelliferyl)-α-d- N -acetylneuraminic acid and lower enzymatic activity compared to the wild-type enzyme. The viral variant containing the mutant neuraminidase did not replicate as well as the wild-type virus in culture and was 10,000-fold less infectious than the wild-type virus in a mouse model. These results suggest that although the R292K neuraminidase mutation confers high-level resistance to GS 4071 in vitro, its effect on viral virulence is likely to render this mutation of limited clinical significance.

scholarly journals Computationally Optimized Broadly Reactive H2 HA Influenza Vaccines Elicited Broadly Cross-Reactive Antibodies and Protected Mice from Viral Challenges

2020 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. e01526-20
Author(s):  
Z. Beau Reneer ◽  
Parker J. Jamieson ◽  
Amanda L. Skarlupka ◽  
Ying Huang ◽  
Ted M. Ross
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Influenza Vaccine ◽  
Neutralizing Antibodies ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Mammalian Species ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
Wild Type Virus ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
The 1950S ◽  
Future Work

ABSTRACTInfluenza viruses have caused numerous pandemics throughout human history. The 1957 influenza pandemic was initiated by an H2N2 influenza virus. This H2N2 influenza virus was the result of a reassortment event between a circulating H2N2 avian virus and the seasonal H1N1 viruses in humans. Previously, our group has demonstrated the effectiveness of hemagglutinin (HA) antigens derived using computationally optimized broadly reactive antigen (COBRA) methodology against H1N1, H3N2, and H5N1 viruses. Using the COBRA methodology, H2 HA COBRA antigens were designed using sequences from H2N2 viruses isolated from humans in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as H2Nx viruses isolated from avian and mammalian species between the 1950s and 2016. In this study, the effectiveness of H2 COBRA HA antigens (Z1, Z3, Z5, and Z7) was evaluated in DBA/2J mice and compared to that of wild-type H2 HA antigens. The COBRA HA vaccines elicited neutralizing antibodies to the majority of viruses in our H2 HA panel and across all three clades as measured by hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) and neutralization assays. Comparatively, several wild-type HA vaccines elicited antibodies against a majority of the viruses in the H2 HA panel. DBA/2J mice vaccinated with COBRA vaccines showed increase survival for all three viral challenges compared to the wild-type H2 vaccines. In particular, the Z1 COBRA is a promising candidate for future work toward a pandemic H2 influenza vaccine.IMPORTANCE H2N2 influenza has caused at least one pandemic in the past. Given that individuals born after 1968 have not been exposed to H2N2 influenza viruses, a future pandemic caused by H2 influenza is likely. An effective H2 influenza vaccine would need to elicit broadly cross-reactive antibodies to multiple H2 influenza viruses. Choosing a wild-type virus to create a vaccine may elicit a narrow immune response and not protect against multiple H2 influenza viruses. COBRA H2 HA vaccines were developed and evaluated in mice along with wild-type H2 HA vaccines. Multiple COBRA H2 HA vaccines protected mice from all three viral challenges and produced broadly cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies to H2 influenza viruses.

scholarly journals 988. Effectiveness of Seasonal Influenza Vaccines Against Influenza A(H3N2) Illness Among Children Aged <18 Years, US Flu VE Network, 2010–2018

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (suppl_1) ◽  
pp. S292-S292
Author(s):  
Brendan L Flannery ◽  
Jessie Chung ◽  
Michael L Jackson ◽  
Lisa A Jackson ◽  
Arnold S Monto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Vaccine ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
The United States ◽  
Vaccine Effectiveness ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
Older Children ◽  
Research Support ◽  
Illness Onset ◽  
Negative Controls ◽  
Research Grant

Abstract Background Interim estimates of 2017–2018 influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) against influenza A(H3N2)-related illness in the United States indicated better protection among young children than among older children and adolescents. We examined VE against influenza A(H3N2) illness during five A(H3N2)-predominant seasons from 2010–2011 through 2016–2017 to investigate differences between VE among younger vs. older children. Methods We analyzed data from 11,736 outpatients aged &lt;18 years with medically attended acute respiratory illnesses enrolled at US Flu VE Network study sites during five influenza A(H3N2)-predominant seasons. Respiratory specimens from all enrollees were tested for influenza viruses using reverse transcription PCR. Children with documented receipt of the recommended number of doses of current season inactivated influenza vaccine at least 14 days before illness onset were considered fully vaccinated; partially vaccinated children and those who received live attenuated influenza vaccine were excluded. Vaccine effectiveness was estimated as 100 × (1 – adjusted odds ratio) from multivariable logistic regression adjusting for study site, age, sex, presence of high-risk medical conditions, and days from illness onset to enrollment comparing odds of vaccination among A(H3N2)-positive cases vs. influenza-negative controls. Results A total of 1,854 influenza A(H3N2) cases and 9,882 influenza-negative controls were included; 494 (28%) influenza A(H3N2) cases and 3,637 (41%) controls were fully vaccinated before illness onset. VE ranged from 26% (95% confidence interval [CI], −17% to 53%) to 60% (38%–75%) among children aged 6 months–4 years and from 9% (−16% to 29%) to 66% (37%–82%) among 5–17 year olds (figure). During 2012–2013 and 2014–2015, A(H3N2) VE estimates were significantly higher among younger compared with older children (P &lt; 0.05); in other seasons before 2017–2018, A(H3N2) VE estimates were similar among younger and older children. Conclusion Higher VE against A(H3N2) viruses in younger vs. older children in some seasons suggests immunologic differences in response to vaccine components. Overall, inactivated influenza vaccine provided moderate protection against A(H3N2)-related illness among children. Disclosures M. L. Jackson, sanofi pasteur: Grant Investigator, Research support. L. A. Jackson, Novartis: Grant Investigator, Research support. R. K. Zimmerman, sanofi pasteur: Grant Investigator, Research support. Pfizer: Grant Investigator, Research support. Merck: Grant Investigator, Research support. M. P. Nowalk, Merck: Grant Investigator, Research support. Pfizer: Grant Investigator, Research support. M. R. Griffin, MedImmune: Grant Investigator, Research support. H. K. Talbot, sanofi pasteur: Investigator, Research grant. Gilead: Investigator, Research grant. MedImmune: Investigator, Research grant. Vaxinnate: Safety Board, none. Seqirus: Safety Board, none. J. J. Treanor, Novartis: Board Member and Consultant, Consulting fee.

scholarly journals Plasminogen-Binding Activity of Neuraminidase Determines the Pathogenicity of Influenza A Virus

2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (19) ◽  
pp. 9297-9301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hideo Goto ◽  
Krisna Wells ◽  
Ayato Takada ◽  
Yoshihiro Kawaoka
Keyword(s):  
Cell Culture ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Binding Activity ◽  
Glycosylation Site ◽  
Wild Type Virus ◽  
Type Virus ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
C Terminus ◽  
Viral Hemagglutinin

ABSTRACT When expressed in vitro, the neuraminidase (NA) of A/WSN/33 (WSN) virus binds and sequesters plasminogen on the cell surface, leading to enhanced cleavage of the viral hemagglutinin. To obtain direct evidence that the plasminogen-binding activity of the NA enhances the pathogenicity of WSN virus, we generated mutant viruses whose NAs lacked plasminogen-binding activity because of a mutation at the C terminus, from Lys to Arg or Leu. In the presence of trypsin, these mutant viruses replicated similarly to wild-type virus in cell culture. By contrast, in the presence of plasminogen, the mutant viruses failed to undergo multiple cycles of replication while the wild-type virus grew normally. The mutant viruses showed attenuated growth in mice and failed to grow at all in the brain. Furthermore, another mutant WSN virus, possessing an NA with a glycosylation site at position 130 (146 in N2 numbering), leading to the loss of neurovirulence, failed to grow in cell culture in the presence of plasminogen. We conclude that the plasminogen-binding activity of the WSN NA determines its pathogenicity in mice.

scholarly journals The pH of Activation of the Hemagglutinin Protein Regulates H5N1 Influenza Virus Pathogenicity and Transmissibility in Ducks

2009 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 1527-1535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark L. Reed ◽  
Olga A. Bridges ◽  
Patrick Seiler ◽  
Jeong-Ki Kim ◽  
Hui-Ling Yen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Membrane Fusion ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
Wild Type Virus ◽  
Type Virus ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
H5n1 Influenza ◽  
Ha Protein

ABSTRACT While the molecular mechanism of membrane fusion by the influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) protein has been studied extensively in vitro, the role of acid-dependent HA protein activation in virus replication, pathogenesis, and transmission in vivo has not been characterized. To investigate the biological significance of the pH of activation of the HA protein, we compared the properties of four recombinant viruses with altered HA protein acid stability to those of wild-type influenza virus A/chicken/Vietnam/C58/04 (H5N1) in vitro and in mallards. Membrane fusion by wild-type virus was activated at pH 5.9. Wild-type virus had a calculated environmental persistence of 62 days and caused extensive morbidity, mortality, shedding, and transmission in mallards. An N114K mutation that increased the pH of HA activation by 0.5 unit resulted in decreased replication, genetic stability, and environmental stability. Changes of +0.4 and −0.5 unit in the pH of activation by Y23H and K58I mutations, respectively, reduced weight loss, mortality, shedding, and transmission in mallards. An H24Q mutation that decreased the pH of activation by 0.3 unit resulted in weight loss, mortality, clinical symptoms, and shedding similar to those of the wild type. However, the HA-H241Q virus was shed more extensively into drinking water and persisted longer in the environment. The pH of activation of the H5 HA protein plays a key role in the propagation of H5N1 influenza viruses in ducks and may be a novel molecular factor in the ecology of influenza viruses. The data also demonstrate that H5N1 neuraminidase activity increases the pH of activation of the HA protein in vitro.

scholarly journals A Genetically Engineered Waterfowl Influenza Virus with a Deletion in the Stalk of the Neuraminidase Has Increased Virulence for Chickens

2009 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 940-952 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Munier ◽  
T. Larcher ◽  
F. Cormier-Aline ◽  
D. Soubieux ◽  
B. Su ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza Virus ◽  
Influenza A ◽  
Molecular Mechanisms ◽  
Transforming Growth Factor ◽  
Cultured Cells ◽  
Genetically Engineered ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
Wild Type Virus ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Moderate Growth

ABSTRACT A deletion of about 20 amino acids in the stalk of the neuraminidase (NA) is frequently detected upon transmission of influenza A viruses from waterfowl to domestic poultry. Using reverse genetics, a recombinant virus derived from a wild duck influenza virus isolate, A/Mallard/Marquenterre/Z237/83 (MZ), and an NA stalk deletion variant (MZ-delNA) were produced. Compared to the wild type, the MZ-delNA virus showed a moderate growth advantage on avian cultured cells. In 4-week-old chickens inoculated intratracheally with the MZ-delNA virus, viral replication in the lungs, liver, and kidneys was enhanced and interstitial pneumonia lesions were more severe than with the wild-type virus. The MZ-delNA-inoculated chickens showed significantly increased levels of mRNAs encoding interleukin-6 (IL-6), transforming growth factor-β4 (TGF-β4), and CCL5 in the lungs and a higher frequency of apoptotic cells in the liver than did their MZ-inoculated counterparts. Molecular mechanisms possibly underlying the growth advantage of the MZ-delNA virus were explored. The measured enzymatic activities toward a small substrate were similar for the wild-type and deleted NA, but the MZ-delNA virus eluted from chicken erythrocytes at reduced rates. Pseudoviral particles expressing the MZ hemagglutinin in combination with the MZ-NA or MZ-delNA protein were produced from avian cultured cells with similar efficiencies, suggesting that the deletion in the NA stalk does not enhance the release of progeny virions and probably affects an earlier step of the viral cycle. Overall, our data indicate that a shortened NA stalk is a strong determinant of adaptation and virulence of waterfowl influenza viruses in chickens.

scholarly journals Restoration of virulence of escape mutants of H5 and H9 influenza viruses by their readaptation to mice

2005 ◽  
Vol 86 (10) ◽  
pp. 2831-2838 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina A. Rudneva ◽  
Natalia A. Ilyushina ◽  
Tatiana A. Timofeeva ◽  
Robert G. Webster ◽  
Nikolai V. Kaverin
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acid ◽  
Amino Acid Change ◽  
Glycosylation Site ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
Phenotypic Characterization ◽  
Escape Mutant ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Glycosylation Sites ◽  
Escape Mutants ◽  
The One

Antigenic mapping of the haemagglutinin (HA) molecule of H5 and H9 influenza viruses by selecting escape mutants with monoclonal anti-HA antibodies and subjecting the selected viruses to immunological analysis and sequencing has previously been performed. The viruses used as wild-type strains were mouse-adapted variants of the original H5 and H9 isolates. Phenotypic characterization of the escape mutants revealed that the amino acid change in HA that conferred resistance to a monoclonal antibody was sometimes associated with additional effects, including decreased virulence for mice. In the present study, the low-virulence H5 and H9 escape mutants were readapted to mice. Analysis of the readapted variants revealed that the reacquisition of virulence was not necessarily achieved by reacquisition of the wild-type HA gene sequence, but was also associated either with the removal of a glycosylation site (the one acquired previously by the escape mutant) without the exact restoration of the initial wild-type amino acid sequence, or, for an H5 escape mutant that had no newly acquired glycosylation sites, with an additional amino acid change in a remote part of the HA molecule. The data suggest that such ‘compensating’ mutations, removing the damaging effects of antibody-selected amino acid changes, may be important in the course of influenza virus evolution.

scholarly journals Attenuation and immunogenicity in mice of temperature-sensitive influenza viruses expressing truncated NS1 proteins

2005 ◽  
Vol 86 (10) ◽  
pp. 2817-2821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana M. Falcón ◽  
Ana Fernandez-Sesma ◽  
Yurie Nakaya ◽  
Thomas M. Moran ◽  
Juan Ortín ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Influenza A ◽  
Influenza Viruses ◽  
Wild Type Virus ◽  
Temperature Sensitive ◽  
Ns1 Protein ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Influenza A Viruses ◽  
Lethal Challenge

It was previously shown that two mutant influenza A viruses expressing C-terminally truncated forms of the NS1 protein (NS1-81 and NS1-110) were temperature sensitive in vitro. These viruses contain HA, NA and M genes derived from influenza A/WSN/33 H1N1 virus (mouse-adapted), and the remaining five genes from human influenza A/Victoria/3/75 virus. Mice intranasally infected with the NS1 mutant viruses showed undetectable levels of virus in lungs at day 3, whereas those infected with the NS1 wild-type control virus still had detectable levels of virus at this time. Nevertheless, the temperature-sensitive mutant viruses induced specific cellular and humoral immune responses similar to those induced by the wild-type virus. Mice immunized with the NS1 mutant viruses were protected against a lethal challenge with influenza A/WSN/33 virus. These results indicate that truncations in the NS1 protein resulting in temperature-sensitive phenotypes in vitro correlate with attenuation in vivo without compromising viral immunogenicity, an ideal characteristic for live attenuated viral vaccines.

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