Potential Mycoplasma Contaminants: Inactivation during Production of Inactivated Egg-Based Viral Vaccines

摘要

Mycoplasmas (the trivial name for Mollicutes) comprise the class of broadly distributed, wall less free living bacteria with one of the smallest known genomes supporting bacterial self replication [1]. While many mycoplasmas are commensals colonizing a wide range of plant, insect, reptilian, avian, mammalian, and human hosts, a number of mycoplasma species are pathogenic and cause disease in their natural hosts. Mycoplasmas, particularly species of the genera Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma, are also frequent contaminants of vaccine substrates, i.e., continuous cell lines, and less frequently, animal-derived tissues and primary cell cultures [2]. This presents a serious concern regarding the risk of mycoplasma contamination for research laboratories and commercial facilities developing and manufacturing cell-derived biological and pharmaceutical products.