Cells, Vaccines, XMRV - new FDA paper

More interesting research, this time from the US FDA, and published on the Health and Human Services website. Another reason for a Wessely smoke screen?

If this has already been posted, or if it's in the wrong place, can a mod please move or delete?

Investigating Viruses in Cells Used to Make Vaccines; and Evaluating the Potential Threat Posed by Transmission of Viruses to Humans

http://www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccines/scienceresearch/biologicsresearchareas/ucm127327.htm

"General Overview
The emergence of pathogenic virus infections like influenza and HIV have created an urgent need for new vaccines.

Virus-based vaccines are made in living cells (cell substrates). Some manufacturers are investigating the use of new cell lines to make vaccines. The continual growth of cell lines ensures that there is a consistent supply of the same cells that can yield high quantities of the vaccine."

"Similarly, we are investigating the transmission and infection processes of a new human retrovirus, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV). We are pursuing this work both in vitro ("test tube" studies) as well as in the monkey model, in order to address potential safety concerns in vaccine cell substrates and in blood products."

"Xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) is a recently discovered human retrovirus that has been found in both chronic fatigue syndrome and prostate cancer patients. Although these findings need further confirmation, there is a potential safety concern regarding XMRV in cell substrates used in vaccines and in transmission by blood transfusion and blood products. We are developing sensitive detection assays for XMRV to evaluate cell substrates and investigate virus transmission by blood transfusion in a monkey model."

Sounds like a very sensible precaution to me.

This page on the FDA website has been there for years according to the internet archive website, but only recently the XMRV content was added to it. I am very interested to know if this was added after the extenstive publishing of the "XMRV is contamination, game over" theories. If it was, it's very significant. But even if it's older, I think it's still significant: the FDA researching if vaccines contain XMRV.

I don't know when the various pieces of the page on this website were added but it does say at the bottom that it was last updated a few days ago on July 24th, 2011. I would think that would make all information stated there as currently valid.

Wait, so the FDA is now calling it a human retrovirus?

One step forward...

I agree, kday. Jemal, i think in this context the recent contamination theories wouldn't end the discussion, even if they were true, rather to the contrary, because they said XMRV has contaminated many cell lines, if i remember correctly. Now what if it had also contaminated cell lines used for vaccine production. Better not think about it...

True Eric. It does seem significant, regardless of when this page was updated.
Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised to find out that XMRV/MLV's have been spread through vaccinations... though I would hate to hear such news.

I always like to see something like that from the FDA, NIH, etc. Like the Lo paper, i think if something comes out of the administration it can't be brushed away just like that.

The vaccination hypothesis is so explosive that i will not talk much about it, before there is more evidence, since i don't really understand these things. But of course it needs to be investigated. I hope XMRV/MRVs were not spread this way, because that would really shake the world, i guess.

Over at the Age of Autism website, they also found this article on the FDA website. I thought their article was a nice read:

http://www.ageofautism.com/2011/08/fda-to-investigate-vaccines-for-xmrv-retrovirus.html

Cynical me. The FDA, hearing heightened public concern about stealth viruses in their vaccines, move quickly into action. What better way to quell the uneducated masses than by mounting a study that says 'Look we are onto it and moving proactively on this'. What a surprise when they trumpet the all clear. Silly alarmists. I really can't see anything is going to come out of this. Too many people and companies would go down. What's more likely is that vaccine vectors will be quietly changed and life will go on.

I've only just got around to reading this, and it's quite fascinating isn't it!
So I thought I'd make a few comments...

Hmm, so a latent cancer-causing retrovirus, that isn't easy to detect, that is transmitted by vaccines. Now why does that sound familiar?

Interesting that they are confirming that viruses that are not 'actively reproducing' are 'hard to detect using standard methods'. That sort of confirms what Judy has been saying for two years now. This also relates to the monkey studies and the Switzer study, which both suggest that XMRV disappears from the blood and becomes latent.

That all sounds very helpful.
I wonder if Judy's culturing process is another way of activating latent viruses?

Yes, I think I'd agree with them on that one - It does sound like a bit of a major safety concern!!!
I wonder what other tumorigenic retroviruses are lurking in vaccine substrates?
Makes me think of Judy's patients who have a high risk of cancers, and of the retrovirus found in human breast cancer samples (can't remember the details), and of Singh detecting XMRV in prostate and breast cancers.

Interesting. But it doesn't sound great, does it! It all makes me start thinking about autism, increased rates of cancer, and there's another disease... what is it now... er, oh yes, ME.

I don't know anything about this process, but chemical induction of latent viruses, makes me think about people who get ME after exposure to toxins.

Fascinating, high-tech stuff. Wish there was more info.

Nice to hear it re-affirmed by the FDA.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow! Go FDA!

Woot!! WooT!!

Hmm, sounds interesting, wouldn't it be nice if here techniques are helpful in this arena?

GG

On this subject, I found the following paper the other day.
http://www.fda.gov/downloads/biolog...kshopmeetingsconferencesminutes/ucm056219.pdf

It comes from 1999.
They discuss the development of new cell lines from cancer cells - the advantage is that the cells do not weaken and die like normal cells so they last longer in tissue culture. The disadvantage is that the cells may contain oncogenes.
On another subject, the DNA vaccines they discuss at this date never came to pass as far as I can judge from the Wiki page.

Latent viruse is another way of saying retrovirus I think. A textbook I have referred to uses this term for retroviruses as they do not replicate actively but can sit in the DNA for long periods.

It is quite a read.

I'm sure Wessley had a fun time rumbling around with the sheep!!!!

Hi currer,
Yes, the use of 'latent' makes sense with retroviruses, doesn't it.
Do you think that scientists don't refer to other viruses, like Herpes, as latent viruses?
I thought I'd read somewhere recently about other viruses being latent (I'm not sure if I did though).

I'd like to know why it's so difficult to detect a latent retrovirus, if the DNA info is still there?
Is it purely a case of low copy numbers?

yeaaghhhofffggghhh!!!!

You realise that you just gave us a 1060 page document to read, currer?!?!?!!?

Keep it for those long nights when you can't fall asleep, 1060 pages should help

Every line a gem!

Yes, I haven't read it all yet myself, but page 83-85 is interesting.

It discusses the liklihood of an aotoimmune reaction as a response to contaminants in vaccines.

PS It is wide spaced so say - about 500 pages!

somebody might want to look at page 292.

Remember they are discussing many different topics (not all directly relevant to us), and this discussion is twelve years old now.
That is a long time in science.