Talk:MRC-5

Semi-protected edit request on 31 January 2021
Under "Culture and Society", this information could be more informative and forthright with the following change. The current phrasing misleads the reader by implying no foetal cell strain was used, when in fact a specific line was used.

"During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, anti-vaccination activists spread misinformation that MRC-5 was an ingredient of the COVID-19 vaccine AZD1222.[6]"

to:

"During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-vaccination activists mis-identified MRC-5 as a foetal cell strain ingredient of the COVID-19 vaccine AZD1222. The foetal cell strain used in AZD1222 is HEK 293.[6]" Freshanos (talk) 01:00, 31 January 2021 (UTC)


 * Yes check.svg Done, the way it was currently written was a bit misleading and it makes sense to add information about what MRC-5 was mis-identified for, which was in the source cited. I changed the wording slightly to make it clear that HEK 293 is still not an ingredient per se. Volteer1 (talk) 05:32, 31 January 2021 (UTC)

Vaccines that use MRC-5
With the reference that activists misidentified MRC-5 in AZD1222, that comment might also be misconstrued to mean that MRC-5 is not used at all in vaccine development. That assumption, although incorrect, seems a valid error to be made because the article references the IS NOT without then referencing the IS INDEED. I suggest that the vaccines that use MRC-5 be included in the article.

The following vaccines, already released and available to the public unless I note otherwise, use the MRC-5 Embryonic Stem-cell Line:

Hepatitis A Vaccines (Vaqta, Havrix, Avaxim, and Epaxal) by Merck, GSK, Sanofi, and Berna. Note: For this Hepatitis-A-only vaccine, there are no alternatives available in the USA or Canada (at least not as of 2015), but there is an alternative available in Europe and Japan (Aimmungen by Kaketsuken). Hepatitis A & B, Hepatitis A & Typhoid (Twinrix and Vivaxim) by GSK and Sanofi. Polio (Poliovax, DT, PolAdsPolio, and Sabin [oral]) by Sanofi Pasteur and GSK. Polio Combination DTaP + polio+ HiB (Pentacel and Quadracel) by Sanofi Pasteur. Rabies (Imovax [for Rabies]) by Sanofi Pasteur. Note: the Imovax for Polio (from Canada) does not use Embryonic Stem-cell Lines Smallpox (Acambis 1000) by Acambis. Shingles (Zostavax) by Merck use WI-38 and MRC-5. Chickenpox (All Varivax and Varilrix) by Merck and GSK use WI-38 and MRC-5. MMR + Chickenpox (ProQuad/MMR-V and Priorix Tetra) by Merck and GSK use RA273, WI-38, and MRC-5. Measles-Rubella (MR Vax and Eolarix) by Merck and GSK use RA273, WI-38, and MRC-5. Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR and Priorix) by Merck and GSK use RA273, WI-38, and MRC-5.

In addition, although the article references that MRC-5 was not used either in testing and development if not in actual production of the AZD1222, there are NIH documents that reference the MRC-5. So either I am ignorant in interpreting the document, which is a distinct possibility, or the available sources contradict one another. In addition, since the ChAdOx1 appears to be in development almost in tandem to the AZD1222, is that one also a potential candidate that uses or source-misinterpreted does not use the MRC-5 stem-cell lines?

COVID-19 Vaccine candidates possibly not yet available to the general public (University of Oxford AND Zeneca):ChAdOx1 and AZD1222 may, or may not if the NIH and other sources below are misinterpreted, use HEK-293 cells and MRC-5 cells.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5516308/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3396660/ https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/merck-supports-jenner-institute-to-reach-first-milestone-in-covid-19-vaccine-manufacturing-891225678.html https://www.astrazeneca.com/content/astraz/media-centre/press-releases/2020/astrazeneca-and-oxford-university-announce-landmark-agreement-for-covid-19-vaccine.html https://www.bitchute.com/video/AmUWT3xEZt7F/

Tesseract501 (talk) 18:39, 17 July 2021 (UTC)

It is best to use the scientists' own words in cases like these. The use of aborted fetal cell lines as a growth medium is detailed in this peer-reviewed paper:

While MRC.5 is not used in the experimental history of this vaccine candidate, HEK-293 is used. Vero E6 cells were used in animal trials but TRex HEK293 cells (trade name) were used for production of the vaccine itself, outlined in the section titled "Generation of vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19" in the referenced paper.

A purification process is employed subsequent to the growth cycle. While there may be some cellular debris remaining after the purification process, there are no aborted fetal cells in the vaccine.

Are aborted fetal cell lines (please, they are NOT "stem cells"!) used in the production of this vaccine? Yes, according to the scientific literature. Are aborted fetal cells an ingredient of the final product? No.Jtrasancos (talk) 01:10, 18 July 2021 (UTC)

Image of Mrc-5 cells
The image of Mrc-5 cells is a high magnification of virions inside intracellular structures in TEM, they may or may not be related to Mrc-5 cells, it is impossible to say. In any case, this image does not display Mrc-5 and should be replaced by a more appropriate one. 213.33.126.84 (talk) 14:28, 15 February 2023 (UTC)