Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) exists as two antigenic subgroups A and B, both of which should be represented in a vaccine. The F and G glycoproteins are the major neutralization and protective antigens, and the G protein in particular is highly divergent between the subgroups. The existing system for reverse genetics is based on the A2 strain of RSV subgroup A, and most efforts to develop a live attenuated RSV vaccine have focused on strain A2 or other subgroup A viruses. In the present study, the development of a live attenuated subgroup B component was expedited by the replacement of the F and G glycoproteins of recombinant A2 virus with their counterparts from the RSV subgroup B strain B1. This gene replacement was initially performed with the wild type (wt) recombinant A2 virus to create a wt AB chimeric virus, and then modified to create a series of A2 derivatives which contain various combinations of A2-derived attenuating mutations located in genes other than F and G. The wt AB virus replicated in cell culture with an efficiency which was comparable to that of the wt A2 and B1 parents. AB chimeric viruses containing temperature sensitive mutations in the A2 background exhibited a level of temperature sensitivity in vitro which were similar to that of A2 viruses bearing the same mutations. In chimpanzees, the replication of the wt AB chimera was intermediate between that of the A2 and B1 wt viruses, and was accompanied by moderate rhinorrhea, as previously seen in this species. An AB chimeric virus, rABcp248/404/1030, which was constructed to contain a mixture of attenuating mutations derived from two different biologically-attenuated A2 viruses, was highly attenuated in both the upper and lower respiratory tract of chimpanzees. This attenuated AB chimeric virus was immunogenic and conferred a high level of resistance in chimpanzees to challenge with wt AB virus. The rABcp248/404/1030 chimeric virus is a promising vaccine candidate for RSV subgroup B, and will be evaluated next in humans. Furthermore, these results suggest that additional attenuating mutations derived from strain A2 can be inserted into the A2 background of the recombinant chimeric AB virus as necessary to modify the attenuation phenotype in a reasonably predictable manner to achieve an optimal balance between attenuation and immunogenicity in a virus bearing the subgroup B antigenic determinants.
