Impact of different influenza cultivation conditions on HA N-Glycosylation

Background Influenza virus is a highly contagious human and animal pathogen causing infections of the respiratory track. Prevention such as high standard hygiene and vaccination still represent the best measures for protection. Beside the traditional egg-based influenza vaccine production, numerous cell culture-based processes are currently being established. Due to its ability to induce strong and protective immune responses, the highly abundant glycoprotein hemagglutinin (HA) represents the major component in influenza vaccines. Since variations in Nglycosylation of glycoproteins such as HA can alter quality characteristics of antigens, the impact of cell lines and process parameters for vaccine manufacturing needs to be addressed. This study investigates the impact of virus adaptation and different harvest time points on HA N-glycosylation. Therefore, the HA of influenza A virus Uruguay/716/2007 (H3N2, high growth reassortant), in the following referred to as IVAUruguay, was purified and N-glycans analyzed by capillary gel electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence (CGE-LIF).