PER.C6(®) cells as a serum-free suspension cell platform for the production of high titer poliovirus: a potential low cost of goods option for world supply of inactivated poliovirus vaccine.

There are two highly efficacious poliovirus vaccines: Sabin's live-attenuated oral polio vaccine (OPV) and Salk's inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). OPV can be made at low costs per dose and is easily administrated. However, the major drawback is the frequent reversion of the OPV vaccine strains to virulent poliovirus strains which can result in Vaccine Associated Paralytic Poliomyelitis (VAPP) in vaccinees.

Antibody and T-cell responses to a virosomal adjuvanted H9N2 avian influenza vaccine: impact of distinct additional adjuvants.

A highly efficacious vaccine is required to counteract a threat of an avian influenza pandemic. Increasing the potency of vaccines by adjuvation is essential not only to overcome generally low immunogenicity of pandemic strains, but also to allow dose sparing and as such to make it feasible to satisfy huge global production demands. In this study we evaluated the ability of four distinct adjuvants to further increase immune responses to a virosomal adjuvanted avian H9N2 influenza vaccine in mice.

Safety and efficacy in geese of a PER.C6-based inactivated West Nile virus vaccine.

Studies were performed with an inactivated vaccine against the mosquito-borne flavivirus, West Nile virus (WNV). The mammalian cell line, PER.C6, was selected as the platform for WNV growth since both the neurovirulent strains NY99 and ISR98 that cause epidemics in humans and high mortality in geese, respectively, could be propagated to high titers (10(9) to 10(10)TCID(50)/ml) on these cells.

Antiviral treatment with alpha interferon up-regulates CD14 on liver macrophages and its soluble form in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

To investigate whether therapy with alpha interferon (IFN-alpha) induces changes in intrahepatic antigen-presenting cells (APCs), we obtained liver biopsy specimens before, during, and after therapy with IFN-alpha from chronic hepatitis B patients whose viral load had already been reduced by at least 8 weeks of treatment with lamivudine. HLA-DR, CD1a, and CD83 were not modified by the therapy. The intralobular expression of CD68 on Kupffer cells remained stable, denoting no changes in the number of resident macrophages during IFN-alpha treatment.

Hepatitis B virus-specific T cell response in chronic hepatitis B patients treated with lamivudine and interferon-alpha.

Aims: The goal of the present study was to assess the impact combination antiviral therapy has on immune responses in chronic hepatitis B.

Materials And Methods: T cell responses were studied in 16 chronically hepatitis B virus (HBV)-infected patients treated with sequential, partially overlapping, lamivudine-interferon (IFN)-alpha combination therapy.

Results: HBcAg-specific lymphoproliferative response (LPR) was transiently detected in four of five patients who achieved virus suppression (HBV DNA < 10(4) genome equivalents/ml) at end of dual therapy, and then reverted to pre-treatment viral load after therapy discontinuation.