Establishment of a model to assess mumps virus neurovirulence in neonatal Wistar rats
Juncheng Ruan1, Wanyu Dong2, Yuanbao Liu3
1R&D Department, Shanghai King-cell Biotechnology Co., Ltd., Shanghai 201506, China.
Abstract:
Mumps virus (MuV) is highly neurotropic and neurovirulent, hence, the neurovirulence of virus seeds used in the production of mumps vaccines must be tested. The previous neurovirulence evaluation method involves measuring the area of the cavity in the Lewis neonatal rat brain caused by MuV through paraffin sectioning and hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining. However, the processes of paraffin sectioning and HE staining are time consuming and complicated. To solve this problem, in this study, a vibratome sectioning system was first deployed to evaluate MuV neurovirulence in the rat brain instead of paraffin sectioning and HE staining. The results showed that the vibratome sectioning method could assess the neurovirulence potential of MuV more objectively and efficiently. In addition, the effects of different MuV doses and the ages of the rats in days on this evaluation method were explored. The results indicate that MuV at no less than 10 50 % cell culture infective dose (CCID50) could cause obvious cavity formation in 1-day-old rat brains. The neonatal rat model developed in this study could evaluate the neurovirulence of different MuV strains with high sensitivity and good repeatability.
Insights
A new vibratome sectioning method efficiently evaluates mumps virus (MuV) neurovirulence in neonatal rats. This improved technique offers a more objective and repeatable assessment for mumps vaccine development.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Neuroscience
- Vaccine Development
Background:
- Mumps virus (MuV) exhibits high neurotropism and neurovirulence, necessitating rigorous testing of vaccine seed strains.
- Traditional neurovirulence evaluation using paraffin sectioning and HE staining is time-consuming and complex.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a more efficient and objective method for evaluating MuV neurovirulence.
- To establish a sensitive and repeatable neonatal rat model for MuV neurovirulence assessment.
Main Methods:
- Deployment of a vibratome sectioning system as an alternative to paraffin sectioning for MuV neurovirulence evaluation in rat brains.
- Investigation of varying MuV doses and neonatal rat ages (in days) to optimize the evaluation method.
Main Results:
- The vibratome sectioning method demonstrated objective and efficient assessment of MuV neurovirulence potential.
- MuV doses of at least 105 50% cell culture infective doses (CCID50) induced significant cavity formation in 1-day-old rat brains.
- The developed neonatal rat model exhibited high sensitivity and good repeatability for evaluating different MuV strains.
Conclusions:
- Vibratome sectioning provides a superior alternative for MuV neurovirulence assessment compared to traditional methods.
- The optimized neonatal rat model is suitable for sensitive and repeatable evaluation of mumps virus neurovirulence, supporting vaccine safety.
