MOLECULAR-BASIS FOR A GEOGRAPHIC-VARIATION OF VARICELLA-ZOSTER VIRUS RECOGNIZED BY A PEPTIDE ANTIBODY

A live attenuated varicella vaccine, derived from a Japanese isolate, is currently being widely used to modulate disease caused by varicella -zoster virus. Differentiation of the vaccine from wild-type isolates has been and will continue to be critical in the assessment of the vac cine in the United States. This has largely relied upon identification of characteristic DNA polymorphisms in the vaccine strain. In this re port, we describe the identification of a new sequence polymorphism, l ocated in the N-terminal coding sequence of open reading frame (ORF) 1 0. This variation results in the synthesis of an ORF 10 protein that i s differentially recognized by antibodies to an ORF 10 synthetic pepti de. The variation appears to be completely restricted to Japanese stra ins, including that used for the live attenuated varicella vaccine. As such, this polymorphism and the antibodies that differentially recogn ize it could prove highly useful in the assessment of the Japanese vac cine in the United States.