Immunocytochemical characterization of viruses and antigenic macromolecules in viral vaccines

Cold immunolabeling combined with negative staining (GINS) provides a valua ble immunocytochemical approach that allows a direct ultrastructural defini tion of all viral vaccine constituents that share common antigenic features with pathogenic viral particles. These results have implications for the d evelopment of viral vaccines since it has been demonstrated that incomplete viral particles such as natural empty capsides and Rotavirus-like particle s lacking the infective genome are potential candidates for the production of neutralizing antibodies. Furthermore comparative results of the applicat ion of GINS to either inactivated vaccines or unfixed samples provide direc t evidence that even after inactivation specific antigenic sites are still available for gold immunolabeling. (C) 2001 Academie des sciences/Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.