Forschungsdatenbank der Universität Zürich

Medizinische Fakultät > Medizinische Virologie, Institut für > PD Dr. Jürg Böni

Safety of live attenuated viral vaccines containing endogenous chicken retroviruses

Summary / Zusammenfassung
In 1996 the Swiss National Center for Retroviruses (SNCR) reported detection of low
concentrations of retroviral particles exhibiting reverse transcriptase (RT) activity in all chicken-
cell-derived live attenuated virus vaccines, namely chicken-cell-produced monovalent measles or
mumps vaccines, the combination MMR vaccine, and yellow fever virus vaccines. This finding
was soon confirmed by other laboratories and the RT containing particles were identified as the
endogenous avian retrovirus, EAV-0, an ancient endogenous retrovirus present in all lines of
chickens. In some of the vaccines, specifically in measles vaccines of a U.S. manufacturer,
sequences of endogenous avian endogenous leukosis virus (ALV subgroup E) were found in
addition to EAV-0 by US. researches.
Although the endogenous chicken retroviruses present in the substrates from these manufacturers
are defective, their capacity for replication or their exact functional defects have not or only
incompletely been characterized. This is necessary, however, for two reasons. First, retroviruses
are able to generate virus particles by complementation from multiple defective genomes. Such
particles can infect new cells and integrate their genome into that of their host. Second, the
mechanism for double-stranded retroviral cDNA synthesis involves switches between the two viral
RNA molecules present in a particle. This mechanism is responsible for recombination and can
result in the generation of a replication competent recombinant viruses from two defective viral
genomes. Thus, despite the presence of only defective endogenous viruses in the genome of the
chicken cell substrates used for vaccine production, transmission of chicken retroviruses to human
cells is conceivable.
The project focuses on interactions of avian endogenous retroviruses with human cells following
in vitro exposure, and on the the potential transmission of the virus to human vaccinees.

Publications / Publikationen
Böni J, Stalder J, Reigel F, Schupbach J. Detection of reverse transcriptase activity in live
attenuated virus vaccines. Clin. Diagn. Virol. 1996; 5:43-53.
Weissmahr RN, Schupbach J, Böni J. Reverse transcriptase activity in chicken embryo fibroblast
culture supernatants is associated with particles containing endogenous avian retrovirus EAV-0
RNA. J. Virol. 1997; 71: 3005-3012.

Keywords / Suchbegriffe
Live attenuated virus vaccines, endogenous chicken retrovirus, EAV-0

Project Leadership and Contacts / Projektleitung und Kontakte

PD Dr. Jürg Böni, Dr. med. vet. (Project Leader) jboeni@immv.uzh.ch
Prof. Dr. Jörg Schüpbach, Dr. med.

Funding Source(s) / Unterstützt durch

Other Public Sources (e.g. Federal or Cantonal Agencies)

Duration of Project / Projektdauer

Project 7133 Seite 1

Jan 2005 to Dec 2007

Project 7133 Seite 2