The Behavior of Different Strains of Poliomyelitis Virus in the Complement Fixation Reaction

[摘要] These studies did not reveal any strains of poliomyelitis virus which were superior to other strains of the same immunologic type for the production of complement fixing antigens, but they established the fact that the strains currently employed in this laboratory for this purpose (Mahoney type 1, Statler type 2 and McMullen type 3), as well as the MEF-1 type 2 and Saukett type 3 strains used by many other laboratories, are as satisfactory as any other strains studied for the production of antigens. All of the strains of each type, with the exception of the LSc type 1 strain, were similar in their capacity to produce complement fixing antigens in HeLa cell cultures.It is interesting to note that antigens from the several type 1 strains (with the exception of the LSc strain, which is an attenuated derivative of the Mahoney strain) had similar titers against the type 1 monkey immune serum produced with the Mahoney strain; the antigens from various type 2 strains displayed similar titers against immune serum produced with the MEF-1 strain; and the antigens from different type 3 strains had similar titers against monkey immune serum produced with the Saukett type 3 strain.The studies described herein indicate that the potency of complement fixing antigens produced in HeLa cell cultures is more dependent upon the condition and number of host cells infected than upon the virus strain from which the antigen is derived, as replicate antigens produced from a single strain of each poliomyelitis virus type showed approximately the same range of titers as antigens produced in parallel from different strains of the three types.Concerning the complement fixing antigens derived from the three attenuated strains, the P-712 attenuated type 2 and the Leon attenuated type 3 strains produced antigens comparable in potency to those derived from the nonattenuated strains of these poliomyelitis virus types and, although the LSc type 1 attenuated strain did not give rise to antigens as potent as those derived from nonattenuated type 1 strains, they were, nevertheless, of sufficient potency to permit the use of two antigenic units in a complement fixation test. Previous studies have indicated that complement fixing antigens derived from the attenuated type 2 and type 3 strains compare favorably with those from nonattenuated strains from the standpoint of sensitivity and specificity (2). The LSc strain was previously found to be as specific as nonattenuated type 1 strains in the complement fixation reaction (2), but the strain was not available to us at the time studies on the sensitivity of antigens from type 1 strains were conducted. It has not been determined whether passage of the attenuated strains in HeLa cells to produce complement fixing antigens has caused an increase in virulence, but this should be ascertained before it can be assumed that the handling of such antigens does not involve a hazard.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）