Molecular and biological characterization of the 5 human-bovine rotavirus (WC3)-based reassortant strains of the pentavalent rotavirus vaccine, RotaTeq.

RotaTeq is a pentavalent rotavirus vaccine that contains five human-bovine reassortant strains (designated G1, G2, G3, G4, and P1) on the backbone of the naturally attenuated tissue culture-adapted parental bovine rotavirus (BRV) strain WC3. The viral genomes of each of the reassortant strains were completely sequenced and compared pairwise and phylogenetically among each other and to human rotavirus (HRV) and BRV reference strains. Reassortants G1, G2, G3, and G4 contained the VP7 gene from their corresponding HRV parent strains, while reassortants G1 and G2 also contained the VP3 gene (genotype M1) from the HRV parent strain. The P1 reassortant contained the VP4 gene from the HRV parent strain and all the other gene segments from the BRV WC3 strain. The human VP7s had a high level of overall amino acid identity (G1: 95-99%, G2: 94-99% G3: 96-100%, G4: 93-99%) when compared to those of representative rotavirus strains of their corresponding G serotypes. The VP4 of the P1 reassortant had a high identity (92-97%) with those of serotype P1A[8] HRV reference strains, while the BRV VP7 showed identities ranging from 91% to 94% to those of serotype G6 HRV strains. Sequence analyses of the BRV or HRV genes confirmed that the fundamental structure of the proteins in the vaccine was similar to those of the HRV and BRV references strains. Sequences analyses showed that RotaTeq exhibited a high degree of genetic stability as no mutations were identified in the material of each reassortant, which undergoes two rounds of replication cycles in cell culture during the manufacturing process, when compared to the final material used to fill the dosing tubes. The infectivity of each of the reassortant strains of RotaTeq, like HRV strains, did not require the presence of sialic acid residues on the cell surface. The molecular and biologic characterization of RotaTeq adds to the significant body of clinical data supporting the consistent efficacy, immunogenicity, and safety of RotaTeq.