Poliovirus-nonsusceptible Vero cell line for the World Health Organization global action plan

Abstract

Polio or poliomyelitis is a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by poliovirus (PV). As a consequence of global polio vaccination efforts, wild PV serotype 2 has been eradicated, and wild PV serotypes 1- and 3-transmitted cases have been largely eliminated except for in limited regions around the world. However, vaccine-derived PV, pathogenically reverted live PV vaccine strains in vaccinated humans, has become a serious issue. For the global eradication of polio, the World Health Organization is conducting the third edition of the Global Action Plan, which is requesting stringent control of potentially PV-infected materials. To facilitate the mission, we generated a PV-nonsusceptible Vero cell subline, which may serve as an ideal replacement of standard Vero cells to isolate emerging/re-emerging viruses without the risk of generating PV-infected materials.