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Oral immunization of foxes with avirulent rabies virus mutants
139 ORAL IMMUNI7,ATION OF FOXES WITH AVIRULENT RABIES VIRUS MUTANTS H LEBLOIS, C TUFFEREAU, J BLANCOU(l),AAUHERT(2) AND A FLAMAND Laboratoire de Genetique des Virus, CNRS, 91198 GIF SUR YVETTE Cedex. (1) CNER, BP No 9, 54220 Malzeville. (2) LaboratoiresVirbac, 13eme rue, L.I.D., 06516 Carros. Rabies in foxes has been spreading rapidly in Europe since 1949. Oral immunizationwith live vaccine incorporatedin baits has long been proposed as an alternative to the destruction of the fox population. First Switzerland in 1918, and then Italy have begun to control rabies by this means. However, the ERA or SAD fixed strain of rabies virus used up to now has been shown high residual pathogenicity for non-target species. The use of a specific anti-glycoproteinneutralizingmonoclonal antibody allowed us to select mutants of the SAD Berne strain, resistant to neutralisationby the monoclonal antibody. Some of them were totally avirulent for adult mice by intracerebral,intramuscularor oral routes, whatever the inoculum concentration. Arginine present in SAD Berne at position 333 was replaced by a serine. Oral vaccination of foxes has been performed with this mutant and the SAD Berne strain: results of the challenge will soon be available. The stability of this avirulent strain and its effect on non-target species are under investigation.
140
MOLECULAR CLONING AND IMMUNOLOGICALANALYSIS OF THE CODING FOR THE FUSION PROTEIN.
MEASLES VIRUS
F-GENE
J.P. Versteeg-van Oosten*, S.A. Langeveld*, P. de Vries#, F.G.C.M. UytdeHaag#, A.D.M.E. Osterhaus#, H.O. Voorma*, P.J. Weisbeek*. *State University of Utrecht, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Utrecht, The Netherlands. #National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Hygiene, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. It has been extensively reported that for the development of safe and effective inactivated vaccines against measles, attention should not only be focussed on the incorporationof the haemagglutinin (H protein), but also on the incorporation of the fusion (F) protein of measles virus (MV). Especially for the induction of a proper response against the F protein, it has been shown that the mode of antigenic presentation is of crucial importance. To study the immunogenic properties of the MV-F protein, we ha;e molecularly cloned the MV-F -gene.‘ A- cDNA fragment encoding .the complete MV-F gene has been inserted into different expression vectors for pro- and eukaryotic systems. In order to localize B- and/or T-cell epitopes on the MV F protein, fragments of this protein have been expressed in E.Coli as beta-galactosidase fusion-proteins. Using a panel of murine monoclonal antibodies and T-cell clones a provisional mapping was performed. The MV F gene was also expressed in mammalian cells using vaccinia recombinants. These recombinants will also allow us to study conformation dependent and glycosilated B- and/or T-cell epitopes.
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140
MOLECULAR CLONING AND IMMUNOLOGICALANALYSIS OF THE CODING FOR THE FUSION PROTEIN.
MEASLES VIRUS
F-GENE
J.P. Versteeg-van Oosten*, S.A. Langeveld*, P. de Vries#, F.G.C.M. UytdeHaag#, A.D.M.E. Osterhaus#, H.O. Voorma*, P.J. Weisbeek*. *State University of Utrecht, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Utrecht, The Netherlands. #National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Hygiene, Bilthoven, The Netherlands. It has been extensively reported that for the development of safe and effective inactivated vaccines against measles, attention should not only be focussed on the incorporationof the haemagglutinin (H protein), but also on the incorporation of the fusion (F) protein of measles virus (MV). Especially for the induction of a proper response against the F protein, it has been shown that the mode of antigenic presentation is of crucial importance. To study the immunogenic properties of the MV-F protein, we ha;e molecularly cloned the MV-F -gene.‘ A- cDNA fragment encoding .the complete MV-F gene has been inserted into different expression vectors for pro- and eukaryotic systems. In order to localize B- and/or T-cell epitopes on the MV F protein, fragments of this protein have been expressed in E.Coli as beta-galactosidase fusion-proteins. Using a panel of murine monoclonal antibodies and T-cell clones a provisional mapping was performed. The MV F gene was also expressed in mammalian cells using vaccinia recombinants. These recombinants will also allow us to study conformation dependent and glycosilated B- and/or T-cell epitopes.
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