Nucleotide Sequence at Position 1081 of the Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase Gene in the Mumps Urabe Vaccine Strain

• Published in: The Journal of infectious diseases Vol. 177; no. 1; pp. 265 - 266
• Main Authors: Afzal, M. A., Yates, P. J., Minor, P. D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States The University of Chicago Press 01.01.1998; University of Chicago Press; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: Amino Acid Substitution; Amino acids; Base Sequence; Cell culture techniques; Correspondence; Genomes; HN Protein - genetics; Mumps; Mumps Vaccine - genetics; Mumps virus; Nucleotide sequences; Nucleotides; Point Mutation; Vaccination; Vero cells; Viruses
• ISSN: 0022-1899; 1537-6613
• DOI: 10.1086/517353

To the Editor - We read with great interest the letter by Mori et al. and the reply by Brown et al. and would like to share with them as well as others our findings (unpublished) of the analysis of the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) gene sequences of the Urabe vaccine strain and its genetic variants. First, we confirm the original findings that showed the existence of mixed viruses in the commercial vaccines of the Urabe strain, which differed at position 1081 (A arrow right G) in the HN gene. According to the hypothesis, the variant that contains an A residue at position 1081 is proposed to be associated with the establishment of disease in the vaccine recipients; however, the clinical safety of the other component, which contains the G residue at this position, is not proven either. At the molecular level, the point mutation from G to A would convert the GAA codon into AAA, which results in the substitution of amino acid Glu to Lys at position 335 of the HN protein.