title: Comparison of β-Propiolactone and Formalin Inactivation on Antigenicity and Immune Response of West Nile Virus.
abstract: West Nile Virus (WNV) is a pathogenic arbovirus that belongs to genus Flavivirus under family Flaviviridae. Till now there are no approved vaccines against WNV for human use. In this study, the effect of two alkylating agents, formaldehyde and β-PL, generally used for inactivated vaccine preparation, was assessed on the basis of antigenic and immunogenic potential of the inactivated WNV. Lineage 5 WNV isolates were inactivated by both formalin and β-PL treatments. Inactivation was confirmed by repeated passage in BHK-21 cell line and infant mice. Viruses inactivated by both the treatments showed higher antigenicity. Immune response in mice model showed serum anti-WNV antibody titre was moderately higher in formalin inactivated antigen compared to β-PL inactivated antigen. However, no significant differences were observed in neutralization antibody titre. In conclusion, we can state that both formaldehyde and β-PL inactivation processes were found to be equally efficient for inactivation of WNV. However, they need to be compared with other inactivating agents along with study on cell mediated immune response.
authors.affiliation: Arbovirology Group, Entomology and Filariasis Division, Regional Medical Research Centre, ICMR, Northeast Region, Post Box No. 105, Dibrugarh, Assam 786001, India ; Department of Biotechnology, Tocklai Tea Research Institute, TRA, Jorhat, Assam 785008, India.
authors.forename: Pritom
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.affiliation: Arbovirology Group, Entomology and Filariasis Division, Regional Medical Research Centre, ICMR, Northeast Region, Post Box No. 105, Dibrugarh, Assam 786001, India.
authors.forename: Rashmee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Topno
authors.affiliation: Arbovirology Group, Entomology and Filariasis Division, Regional Medical Research Centre, ICMR, Northeast Region, Post Box No. 105, Dibrugarh, Assam 786001, India.
authors.forename: Siraj A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Khan
authors.affiliation: Arbovirology Group, Entomology and Filariasis Division, Regional Medical Research Centre, ICMR, Northeast Region, Post Box No. 105, Dibrugarh, Assam 786001, India.
authors.forename: Jagadish
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mahanta