title: Genetic and antigenic analyses of a Puumala virus isolate as a potential vaccine strain.
abstract: Puumala virus (PUUV), a causative agent of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), is prevalent in Europe and European Russia. No vaccine has been developed for PUUV-associated HFRS, primarily because of the low viral yield in cultured cells. A PUUV strain known as DTK/Ufa-97 was isolated in Russia and adapted for growth in Vero E6 cells maintained in serum-free medium. The DTK/Ufa-97 strain produced a higher viral titer in serum-free medium, suggesting that it may prove useful in the development of an HFRS vaccine. When PUUV-infected Vero E6 cells were grown in serum-free medium, the DTK/Ufa-97 strain yielded more copies of intracellular viral RNA and a higher viral titer in the culture fluid than did the Sotkamo strain. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that PUUVs can be classified into multiple lineages according to geographical origin, and that the DTK/Ufa-97 strain is a member of the Bashkiria-Saratov lineage. The deduced amino acid sequences of the small, medium, and large segments of the DTK/Ufa-97 strain were 99.2% to 100%, 99.3% to 99.8%, and 99.8% identical, respectively, to those of the Bashkirian PUUV strains and 96.9%, 92.6%, and 97.4% identical, respectively, to those of the Sotkamo strain, indicating that the PUUVs are genetically diverse. However, DTK/Ufa-97 and other strains of PUUV exhibited similar patterns of binding to a panel of monoclonal antibodies against Hantaan virus. In addition, diluted antisera (i.e., ranging from 1:160 to 1:640) specific to three strains of PUUV neutralized both homologous and heterologous viruses. These results suggest that the DTK/Ufa-97 strain is capable of extensive growth and is antigenically similar to genetically distant strains of PUUV.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Public Health, Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0818, Japan.
authors.forename: Nur Hardy
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Abu Daude
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kariwa
authors.forename: Evgeniy
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tkachenko
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dzagurnova
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Medvedkina
authors.forename: Petr
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tkachenko
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishizuka
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Seto
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Miyashita
authors.forename: Takahiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sanada
authors.forename: Mina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakauchi
authors.forename: Kentaro
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshii
authors.forename: Akihiko
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maeda
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yoshimatsu
authors.forename: Jiro
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Arikawa
authors.forename: Ikuo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Takashima
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology*; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D010802:Phylogeny; D029262:Puumala virus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology*; D014709:Vero Cells; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*; D014779:Virus Replication
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D014765:Viral Vaccines