Clonal vaccinia virus grown in cell culture fully protects monkeys from lethal monkeypox challenge.

The potential use of smallpox as an agent of bioterrorism has renewed interest in the development of a modern vaccine capable of replacing the standard Dryvax vaccine. Vaccinia virus (ACAM2000), clonally isolated from Dryvax and manufactured in cell culture, was tested for immunogenicity and protective activity in a non-human primate model. Cynomolgus monkeys vaccinated with ACAM2000, Dryvax, or ACAM2000 diluent (control) were challenged 2 months post-vaccination with a lethal, intravenous dose of monkeypox virus.

Perturbation of B-cell development in mice overexpressing the Bcl-2 homolog A1.

Decisions about cell survival or death are central components of adaptive immunity and occur at several levels in immune system development and function. The Bcl-2 family of homologous proteins plays an important role in these decisions in lymphoid cells. Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, and A1 are differentially expressed during B- and T-cell development, and they have shared and distinct roles in regulating cell death.