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Ekimov A, Arunachalam AB, Blake T, Bodle J, Couzens L, Dubey S, Eichelberger M, Engelhardt OG, Gubinelli F, Joshi M, Melnyk D, Palladino G, Rigsby P, Rockman S, Savina N, Smith E, Gilchrist SAN. Assessing the stability-indicating properties of alternative potency assays for inactivated influenza vaccine. Vaccine 2023:S0264-410X(23)00726-0. [PMID: 37344260 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2023.06.051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/23/2023]
Abstract
Determination of the potency of a vaccine is critical to ensuring that an appropriate dose is delivered, lot-to-lot consistency is maintained, and that the formulation is stable over the life of the vaccine. The potency of inactivated influenza vaccines is determined routinely by the Single Radial Immunodiffusion (SRID) assay. A number of alternative potency assays have been proposed and have been under evaluation in recent years. The aim of this study was to compare a surface plasmon resonance-based assay and two different enzyme linked immunoassays against the current potency assay, SRID, and against mouse immunogenicity when haemagglutinin antigen of the A(H1N1)pdm09 component of an inactivated influenza vaccine is stressed by elevated temperature, low pH and freezing. This analysis demonstrated that the alternative assays had good correspondence with SRID for samples from most stress conditions and that the immunogenicity in mice corresponded with potency in SRID for all stress samples. Subject to further analysis, the assays have been shown to have the potential to possibly replace, and at least complement, SRID.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksei Ekimov
- Department of New Technologies, Federal State Unitary Enterprise (FSUE), Saint-Petersburg Scientific Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums (SPbSRIVS), Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) of Russia, Saint-Petersburg 198320, Russian Federation.
| | - Arun B Arunachalam
- Global Analytical Sciences, R&D Sanofi, 1 Discovery Dr, Swiftwater, PA 18370, USA.
| | - Taylor Blake
- Global Analytical Sciences, R&D Sanofi, 1 Discovery Dr, Swiftwater, PA 18370, USA.
| | - Jesse Bodle
- Technical Development and Global Process Innovation, Seqirus Ltd, 63 Poplar Rd, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.
| | - Laura Couzens
- Division of Biological Standards and Quality Control (DBSQC), Office of Compliance and Biologics Quality, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), US Food & Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, United States of America.
| | - Sitara Dubey
- Standards Lifecycle, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, Blanche Lane, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK.
| | - Maryna Eichelberger
- Division of Biological Standards and Quality Control (DBSQC), Office of Compliance and Biologics Quality, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), US Food & Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, United States of America.
| | - Othmar G Engelhardt
- Vaccines, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Blanche Lane, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK.
| | - Francesco Gubinelli
- Standards Lifecycle, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, Blanche Lane, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK.
| | - Manju Joshi
- Division of Biological Standards and Quality Control (DBSQC), Office of Compliance and Biologics Quality, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), US Food & Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, United States of America.
| | - Darya Melnyk
- Division of Biological Standards and Quality Control (DBSQC), Office of Compliance and Biologics Quality, Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER), US Food & Drug Administration, 10903 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, United States of America.
| | - Giuseppe Palladino
- Preclinical Research, Seqirus, 50 Hampshire Street, 9th Floor Cambridge, MA 02139, United States of America.
| | - Peter Rigsby
- Analytical and Biological Sciences, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, Blanche Lane, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK.
| | - Steven Rockman
- Technical Development and Global Process Innovation, Seqirus Ltd, 63 Poplar Rd, Parkville, Victoria 3052, Australia.
| | - Natalya Savina
- Department of New Technologies, Federal State Unitary Enterprise (FSUE), Saint-Petersburg Scientific Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums (SPbSRIVS), Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) of Russia, Saint-Petersburg 198320, Russian Federation.
| | - Elena Smith
- Analytical CMC, Vaccine mRNA Center of Excellence, Sanofi, 200 West Street, Waltham, MA 02451, United States of America.
| | - Shawn A N Gilchrist
- S Gilchrist Consulting Services Inc, 8 Covebank Crescent, Brampton, ON L6P 2X5, Canada.
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Cheung CY, Dubey S, Hadrovic M, Ball CR, Ramage W, McDonald JU, Harvey R, Hufton SE, Engelhardt OG. Development of an ELISA-Based Potency Assay for Inactivated Influenza Vaccines Using Cross-Reactive Nanobodies. Vaccines (Basel) 2022; 10:vaccines10091473. [PMID: 36146550 PMCID: PMC9503116 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines10091473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Inactivated vaccines are the main influenza vaccines used today; these are usually presented as split (detergent-disrupted) or subunit vaccines, while whole-virus-inactivated influenza vaccines are rare. The single radial immune diffusion (SRD) assay has been used as the gold standard potency assay for inactivated influenza vaccines for decades; however, more recently, various alternative potency assays have been proposed. A new potency test should be able to measure the amount of functional antigen in the vaccine, which in the case of influenza vaccines is the haemagglutinin (HA) protein. Potency tests should also be able to detect the loss of potency caused by changes to the structural and functional integrity of HA. To detect such changes, most alternative potency tests proposed to date use antibodies that react with native HA. Due to the frequent changes in influenza vaccine composition, antibodies may need to be updated in line with changes in vaccine viruses. We have developed two ELISA-based potency assays for group 1 influenza A viruses using cross-reactive nanobodies. The nanobodies detect influenza viruses of subtype H1N1 spanning more than three decades, as well as H5N1 viruses, in ELISA. We found that the new ELISA potency assays are sensitive to the nature of the reference antigen (standard) used to quantify vaccine antigens; using standards matched in their presentation to the vaccine type improved correspondence between the ELISA and SRD assays.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chung Y. Cheung
- Vaccines Division, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK
| | - Sitara Dubey
- Vaccines Division, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK
| | - Martina Hadrovic
- Vaccines Division, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK
| | - Christina R. Ball
- Biotherapeutics Division, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK
| | - Walter Ramage
- Biotherapeutics Division, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK
| | - Jacqueline U. McDonald
- Vaccines Division, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK
| | - Ruth Harvey
- Vaccines Division, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK
| | - Simon E. Hufton
- Biotherapeutics Division, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK
| | - Othmar G. Engelhardt
- Vaccines Division, Scientific Research & Innovation, Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, South Mimms, Potters Bar EN6 3QG, UK
- Correspondence:
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A new and simplified anion exchange chromatographic process for the purification of cell-grown influenza A H1N1 virus. Sep Purif Technol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2021.118412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Hemagglutinin from multiple divergent influenza A and B viruses bind to a distinct branched, sialylated poly-LacNAc glycan by surface plasmon resonance. Vaccine 2020; 38:6757-6765. [PMID: 32928588 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.08.037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2020] [Revised: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Influenza viruses initiate infection via specific interactions of hemagglutinin (HA) with host cell surface sialic acid-containing glycans. Antigenic drift has resulted in HA amino acid sequence changes that affect binding properties for sialic acids. Further, viral propagation in eggs and cell culture for vaccine production can yield variants with mutations that affect the conformation and affinity of HA for sialic acids. Therefore, influenza vaccine researchers and manufacturers need robust analytical methods to assess directly the ability of vaccine candidates to bind to their specific sialic acid ligand. We developed a surface plasmon resonance method that uses an extended, biantennary glycan terminating with α-2,6 linked sialic acids to bind influenza HA and assess this interaction. Recombinant HA (rHA) from both influenza A and B viruses isolated from 1999 to 2017 strongly and specifically bind this sialic acid ligand, suggesting the binding ability of divergent HA for this ligand is resistant to antigenic drift. Importantly, the method can differentiate between wild type and mutant rHA for which binding to this sialylated glycan and red blood cells in hemagglutination assays is compromised. We believe this method can be a powerful tool to screen influenza A and B vaccine candidates and final vaccine preparations for their functional ability to bind sialic acids, which allows manufacturers to identify preparations in which mutations that affect sialic acid binding have arisen during propagation. Evaluation of vaccine rHA antigen integrity by confirmation of the receptor binding site functionality is a prudent cautionary step to assure the antigenic quality of seasonal influenza vaccines.
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Lemieux M, Lorbetskie B, Luebbert C, Walrond L, Li C, Li X, Cyr T, Sauvé S, Johnston M, Farnsworth A. The differential effect of sub-micron level HA aggregates on influenza potency assays. Vaccine 2019; 37:5276-5287. [DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2019.07.050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Revised: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 07/13/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Lorbetskie B, Cunningham AM, Lemieux M, Durno L, Farnsworth A, Wang J, Li C, Li X, Gilbert M, Sauvé S, Girard M. Selective Capture and Determination of Receptor-Binding Hemagglutinin in Influenza Vaccine Preparations Using a Coupled Receptor-Binding/RP-HPLC Assay. Anal Chem 2019; 91:8908-8917. [PMID: 31251585 DOI: 10.1021/acs.analchem.9b00617] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Influenza vaccine potency is determined by the quantification of immunologically active hemagglutinin capable of eliciting neutralizing antibodies upon immunization. Currently, the single radial immunodiffusion (SRID) method is the standard in vitro potency assay used for lot release of seasonal inactivated influenza vaccines. Despite the proven usage of SRID, significant limitations such as the time-consuming preparation of reagents and limited dynamic range warrant the need for the development of alternative potency assays. Such alternative approaches need to discriminate and quantify relevant hemagglutinin material, provide strain identity, and be independent of strain-specific and seasonal reagents. Herein, we present a proof of concept method that combines the capture of conformationally well-folded hemagglutinin via a sialic acid binding step with the resolving power of reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography for strain identity and determination. Details of the protocol for the selective capture of receptor-binding hemagglutinin, its release from the receptor, and its relative determination are presented. This approach was found to provide flexibility for the reagents to be used and was adaptable to varying strain compositions of influenza vaccines. This proof of concept approach was developed as an antibody-independent methodology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barry Lorbetskie
- Centre for Biologics Evaluation, Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate , Health Canada , 251 Sir Frederick Banting , Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa , Ontario K1A 0K9 , Canada
| | - Anna-Maria Cunningham
- National Research Council Canada , Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre , Ottawa , Ontario K1A 0R6 , Canada
| | - Michèle Lemieux
- Centre for Biologics Evaluation, Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate , Health Canada , 251 Sir Frederick Banting , Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa , Ontario K1A 0K9 , Canada
| | - Laura Durno
- Centre for Biologics Evaluation, Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate , Health Canada , 251 Sir Frederick Banting , Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa , Ontario K1A 0K9 , Canada
| | - Aaron Farnsworth
- Centre for Biologics Evaluation, Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate , Health Canada , 251 Sir Frederick Banting , Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa , Ontario K1A 0K9 , Canada
| | - Junzhi Wang
- National Institutes for Food and Drug Control and WHO Collaborating Center for Standardization and Evaluation of Biologicals , National Institute for Food and Drug Control of China , No.2 Tiantan Xili , Beijing 10050 , People's Republic of China
| | - Changgui Li
- National Institutes for Food and Drug Control and WHO Collaborating Center for Standardization and Evaluation of Biologicals , National Institute for Food and Drug Control of China , No.2 Tiantan Xili , Beijing 10050 , People's Republic of China
| | - Xuguang Li
- Centre for Biologics Evaluation, Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate , Health Canada , 251 Sir Frederick Banting , Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa , Ontario K1A 0K9 , Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine , University of Ottawa , Ottawa , Ontario K1H 8M5 , Canada
| | - Michel Gilbert
- National Research Council Canada , Human Health Therapeutics Research Centre , Ottawa , Ontario K1A 0R6 , Canada
| | - Simon Sauvé
- Centre for Biologics Evaluation, Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate , Health Canada , 251 Sir Frederick Banting , Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa , Ontario K1A 0K9 , Canada
| | - Michel Girard
- Centre for Biologics Evaluation, Biologics and Genetic Therapies Directorate , Health Canada , 251 Sir Frederick Banting , Tunney's Pasture, Ottawa , Ontario K1A 0K9 , Canada
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Reference antigen-free and antibody-free LTD-IDMS assay for influenza H7N9 vaccine in vitro potency determination. Vaccine 2018; 36:6144-6151. [PMID: 30194004 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2018.08.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2018] [Revised: 08/09/2018] [Accepted: 08/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Influenza vaccines are the most effective intervention to prevent the substantial public health burden of seasonal and pandemic influenza. Hemagglutinin (HA), as the main antigen in inactivated influenza vaccines (IIVs), elicits functional neutralizing antibodies and largely determines IIV effectiveness. HA potency has been evaluated by single-radial immunodiffusion (SRID), the standard in vitro potency assay for IIVs, to predict vaccine immunogenicity with a correlation to protective efficacy. We previously reported that limited trypsin digestion (LTD) selectively degraded stressed HA, so that an otherwise conformationally insensitive biophysical quantification technique could specifically quantify trypsin-resistant, immunologically active HA. Here, we demonstrate that isotope dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS), a method capable of quantifying the absolute HA concentration without reference antigen use, can be further expanded by adding LTD followed with precipitation to selectively quantify the active HA. We test the LTD-IDMS assay on H7N9 vaccines stressed by low pH, raised temperature, or freeze/thaw cycles. This method, unlike SRID, has no requirement for strain-specific reference antigens or antibodies and can generate potency values that correlate with SRID. Thus, LTD-IDMS is a promising alternative in vitro potency assay for influenza vaccines to complement and potentially replace SRID in a pandemic when strain specific reagents may not be readily available.
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