The yellow fever 17D vaccine virus as a vector for the expression of foreign proteins: development of new live flavivirus vaccines
Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz
; 95(supl.1): 215-23, 2000. ilus
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-274884
Responsible library:
BR1.1
RESUMO
The Flaviviridae is a family of about 70 mostly arthropod-borne viruses many of which are major public health problems with members being present in most continents. Among the most important are yellow fever (YF), dengue with its four serotypes and Japanese encephalitis virus. A live attenuated virus is used as a cost effective, safe and efficacious vaccine against YF but no other live flavivirus vaccines have been licensed. The rise of recombinant DNA technology and its application to study flavivirus genome structure and expression has opened new possibilities for flavivirus vaccine development. One new approach is the use of cDNAs encopassing the whole viral genome to generate infectious RNA after in vitro transcription. This methodology allows the genetic mapping of specific viral functions and the design of viral mutants with considerable potential as new live attenuated viruses. The use of infectious cDNA as a carrier for heterologous antigens is gaining importance as chimeric viruses are shown to be viable, immunogenic and less virulent as compared to the parental viruses. The use of DNA to overcome mutation rates intrinsic of RNA virus populations in conjunction with vaccine production in cell culture should improve the reliability and lower the cost for production of live attenuated vaccines. The YF virus despite a long period ignored by researchers probably due to the effectiveness of the vaccine has made a come back, both in nature as human populations grow and reach endemic areas as well as in the laboratory being a suitable model to understand the biology of flaviviruses in general and providing new alternatives for vaccine development through the use of the 17D vaccine strain
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Health context:
Neglected Diseases
Health problem:
Dengue
Database:
LILACS
Main subject:
Yellow Fever
/
Viral Vaccines
/
Flavivirus
Limits:
Humans
Language:
English
Journal:
Mem. Inst. Oswaldo Cruz
Journal subject:
Tropical Medicine
/
Parasitology
Year:
2000
Document type:
Article
/
Congress and conference
Affiliation country:
Brazil
Institution/Affiliation country:
Fiocruz/BR
/
Instituto Oswaldo Cruz/BR