USDA licensing policy for biologicals produced by R-DNA.

The advent of recombinant DNA technology has prompted a review of current Standard Requirements used in licensing Veterinary Biological Products. Unique problems associated with the production and testing of biologics derived from the new biotechnology are reviewed to insure compliance with the United States Department of Agriculture's requirement for purity, safety, potency and efficacy. Requirements for plasmid/vector characterization and stability will be discussed and correlated with the Master Seed concept. Practical methodology used to monitor antigenic expression, concentration, purification and stability during production and recovery is considered. Bulk and/or final container testing will meet established criteria for biologicals produced by conventional procedures. Experience in preparation and regulation of recombinant-derived biologicals may require revision of current Standard Requirements or special additional requirements. This flexible approach will facilitate licensing of these new products.

New method for large-scale growth; and concentration of the Epstein-Barr viruses.

Efficacious systems are described for the large-scale growth in tissue culture and concentration of infectious (P3HR-1) and transforming (B95-8) Epstein-Barr virus. Also recorded here are our updated procedures for growing stock cultures and protocols to harvest fluids containing biologically active virus which is infectious or transforming. Various methods of concentrating biologically active Epstein-Barr virus have been evaluated. Cellular debris can be removed efficiently and rapidly from culture harvest fluids by clarification through a JCF-Z continuous-flow rotor. Efficient and reliable virus concentration was achieved by molecular filtration with Millipore Pellicon cassettes, using flow rates to 10 liters/h to produce fivefold concentrates followed by pelletization in a fixed-angle rotor. Data from recent production lots showed an average infectivity titer for P3HR-1 virus of 10(4.5) early antigen units per ml (100-fold concentrate) and 10(5.7) transforming units per ml (200-fold concentrate) for B95-9 virus lots.

In vitro production of Rauscher murine leukemia virus: influence of culture age on biological properties.

Large-scale production and concentration procedures have been standardized to study the biological properties of Rauscher leukemia virus produced from the high-passaged JLS-V9-H mouse bone marrow cell line. Virus produced early (days 4 to 6) in the harvest and refeed cycle contained higher levels of ribonucleic acid-directed deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase activity and was more infectious than Rauscher leukemia virus produced later (days 7 to 10) in the growth period. The peak of virus production as detected by physical assays (virus particle count, protein, and p30 antigen) was highest at day 6, whereas the optimum biological and ribonucleic acid-directed deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase activity occurred 24 h earlier. When product characterization values of each concentrate were adjusted to a specific activity (i.e., per milligram of protein) basis, virus particle counts averaged 4 x 10(11) through days 5 to 9, and the peak infectivity occurred at day 4, whereas ribonucleic acid-directed deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase activity was highest at day 4 (endogenous) and 5 (exogenous). Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel analysis revealed only slight differences in the polypeptide pattern of Rauscher leukemia virus harvested from cultures of varying age, although Rauscher leukemia virus produced between days 3 and 5 contained more glycoprotein than either earlier or later harvests.

Large-scale production of mouse mammary tumor virus in the absence of endogenous murine leukemia virus.

A system for the large-scale production and purification of mouse mammary tumor virus in the absence of detectable endogenous murine leukemia virus is described. By utilizing the Mm5mt/c1 cell line established from an adenocarcinoma of a C3H mouse, the continuous production of over 25,000 liters of mouse mammary tumor virus-containing tissue culture fluids has been achieved. By the strict adherence to well-defined tissue culture conditions, mammary tumor virus production was accomplished without the expression of murine leukemia virus. Various biochemical and immunological systems were established for the rapid and precise detection of the endogenous leukemia virus, the expression of which could be enhanced under conditions of culture stress.

Enhanced production of Rauscher leukemia virus after infection of high-passaged JLS-V9 cells.

JLS-V9, a mouse bone marrow cell line infected with Rauscher leukemia virus at high passage level, produced larger amounts of virus than the standard JLS-V10 cells. The enhanced virus production was attributed to the increased saturation density of JLS-V9 cells.

Type B and type C RNA tumor virus replication in single cells. Electron microscopy with tannic acid.

Simultaneous replication of murine mammary tumor virus (type B) and murine leukemia virus (type C) was demonstrated electron microscopically along continuous stretches of the plasma membrane of single cells in cultures ofthe Mm5mt/c1 cell line. Types B and C virus buds were discriminated in thin sections with the aid of a tannic acid fixative that revealed the type B surface spikes as a homogeneous band of intermediate density and constant width on the surfaces of some buds (type B), whereas others (type C) remained with relatively smooth envelopes. Both types B and C buds may contain morphologically identical horseshoe-shaped nucleoids. Therefore, their identify (type B or C) could be ascertained in thin sections only on the basis of recognition of surface spikes.

Quantitative immunoelectrophoretic assay for murine oncornavirus p30: noncovalent facilitation by sodium dodecyl sulfate.

Treatment of Rauscher murine leukemia virus lysates with the anionic detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) at concentrations between 0.2 to 2.0% SDS per mg of viral protein greatly increased the anodal electrophoretic mobility of p30, the major internal polypeptide. SDS treatment did not reduce p30 antigenicity or cause nonspecific precipitation of normal serum proteins during subsequent immunoanalysis. The increased anodal electrophoretic mobility allowed assay of Rauscher murine leukemia virus p30 by Laurell rocket immunoelectrophoresis. An SDS-facilitated rocket immunoelectrophoresis assay is described that was highly reproducible (coefficient of variability, less than 3.0%) and capable of detecting 125 ng of viral protein. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a quantitative immunoelectrophoretic assay for an oncornavirus antigen. Since SDS binding is a general property of proteins, this method of noncovalently altering electrophoretic mobility appears to be applicable to other antigen-antibody systems.

Method for reproducible large-volume production and purification of Rauscher murine leukemia virus.

Rauscher murine leukemia virus was produced in roller-bottle cultures of chronically infected JLS-V9 cells. Virus from this culture fluid was concentrated and purified by two semi-isopycnic bandings in sucrose gradients. Virus material obtained from young, nonconfluent cultures (early-harvest virus) yielded products characteristically containing endogenous ribonucleic acid-dependent deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase with high specific activity (400 to 1,000 pmol of [3H]thymidine 5'-triphosphate incorporated per milligram of protein per hour). Fluids obtained from older confluent cultures (late-harvest virus) yielded products with endogenous ribonucleic acid-dependent deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase with little or no specific activity (200 pmol or less of [3H]thymidine 5'-triphosphate incorporated per milligram of protein per hour), but with higher virus particle counts and greater amounts of protein and gs antigen than the early-harvest products.

Adaptation and infection of mouse bone marrow (JLS-V9) cells in suspension culture for production of Rauscher leukemia virus.

JLS-V9 mouse bone marrow cells were readily adapted to suspension culture, chronically infected with Rauscher leukemia virus (RLV), and subsequently grown in 7.5- and 14-liter New Brunswick fermentors. The suspension-type cell system can be modified to produce virus with clearly defined properties, such as high ribonucleic acid-dependent deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase (RDDP) activity, high particle count, and high infectious particle count. Biological and biophysical properties of suspension-produced RLV were not affected by concentration and purification employing continuous-flow and rate-zonal centrifugation procedures. The RDDP assay was standardized and showed a linear incorporation of (3)H-thymidine 5'-monophosphate ((3)H-TMP) up to 30 min. Further characterization indicated that a high percentage of (3)H-TMP incorporation was due to RDDP.