acad. A.Smorodintsev
(1901-1986)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

   

Head - professor Larissa G.Rudenko

(812) 234-92-14

The Department of virology was organized in the Institute of experimental medicine in 1946 under the leadership of A.A.Smorodintsev whose name was given to the Department after his death. The name of academician of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences A. A. Smorodintsen is associated with the development of numerous antiviral drugs that had placed the national virolgy on the foremost position in the world.

A. A. Smorodintsev was rewarded with two orders of Lenin, order of Friendship of Peoples, he is a Lenin and State prizes winner. From 1987 till 2001 the Department was headed by professor Honored science worker of RF G. I. Aleksandrova, a well-known expert in the field of developing the live influenza vaccine. At the present time the Department is headed by professor L. G. Rudenko.

The department has two laboratories:

  • laboratory of general virology — head Honored science worker of RF L. G. Rudenko,

  • laboratory of immunology and prophylactics of viral infections — head doctor of medical sciences A. N. Naikhin.

Professors G. I. Aleksandrova and L. G. Rudenko are awarded the status "Honored science worker of RF". Professor G. I. Aleksandrova was awarded to the Academician Timakov prize of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences for investigations in the field of molecular genetics of the influenza virus.
For many years the Department of virology has been performing the whole number of investigations in the field of influenza in collaboration with the leading research centers and large-scale pharmaceutical companies abroad: Royal Melbourn Technologhy University, "Biodiem Ltd." Merck Co., USA; "Akzo Nobel", Holland.

The main achievement of the Department for the last 15 years is the development of the first in the world live influenza reassortant polyvalent vaccine for prophylactics of influenza among different groups of population: children from 3 years of age and older, adult population and elderly people having different chronic diseases.

Following the principle that the anti-influenza vaccines are still imperfect, but remain the first aim for the directed application of genetical methods for their development, the Department used new methods of genetic reassortment providing the reassortment of the genes of the epidemic and attenuated strains and obtaining the reassortants with the following selection of clones with useful features of both parental viruses. The molecular bases of cold-adapted donors of attenuation have been studied proving that multiple mutations in the genes coding non-glycosilated proteins underlie the molecular mechanism of attenuation of cold-adapted influenza virus strains. The role of certain genes of influenza A virus in processes of virulence and immunogenicity was investigated.

Fundamental immunological investigations fulfilled by A. A. Smorodintsev's disciple — doctor of medical sciences A. N. Naikhin allowed a number of theoretical principal propositions to be put forward on the nature of the development of immune response to influenza virus concerning the following: balance of the cellular (Th1) and humoral (Th2) components in natural infection and vaccination with the live and inactivated vaccines; the development of pathological immune reactions; the leading role of local immunity in the respiratory tract mucosa in protection against influenza; association of the people's age with the quantitative parameters of the immune response; the theory of forming the collective immunity to the actual influenza viruses and those which circulated before.

The most important achievement of epidemiological researches of the Department is the proved advantage of the influenza virus as compared with inactivated one by the influence of vaccination on the epidemic process of influenza that manifested itself in the indirect protective effect of vaccination in relation to not vaccinated subjects. The department has planned the whole number of perspective fundamental and applied investigations. Main attention in the nearest time, just like in the world practice, will be given to the development of the live influenza vaccine — a pandemic variant, which is the principal aim set by the WHO before scientists-virologists.

The investigations will be carried out in two directions:
1. Development of a technology of the live influenza vaccine on the basis of tissue cultures that will allow production of the vaccine in sufficient quantity for all groups of population. In addition, the use of tissue vaccines will make the level of these agents more harmless and allow them to be used for the youngest children and patients suffering from allergic diseases.

2. Due to the circulation of the highly pathogenic avian subtype H5 viruses which had caused several serious outbreaks with lethal outcomes in a number of Asian countries, the main task is to prepare reassortant high-yield strains containing the hemagglutinin H5 gene. For this purpose both the apathogenic avian viruses and pathogenic for man variants will be used in which highly pathogenic hemagglutinin will be changed into apathogenic one by the methods of feedback genetics.

Investigations on preparing the pandemic vaccines are already in progress in the Department and are included both in the program of the Ministry of Health of Russia and in the program of the World Health Organization on preparation to the pandemic.

The main directions of immunological investigations will include:

  1. The formation of immunological memory in the field of primary contact of the pathogenic agent with organism (immunological memory is the basis of the full value development of postvaccination immunity)

  2.  Involvement of different types of immune cells in the local immune response

  3. The influence of biological properties of the influenza virus on the local immune response.