Neutralizing antibodies respond to a bivalent dengue DNA vaccine or/and a recombinant bivalent antigen

Dengue Virus and Vaccines: How Can DNA Immunization Contribute to This Challenge?

Dengue infections still have a tremendous impact on public health systems in most countries in tropical and subtropical regions. The disease is systemic and dynamic with broad range of manifestations, varying from mild symptoms to severe dengue (Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever and Dengue Shock Syndrome). The only licensed tetravalent dengue vaccine, Dengvaxia, is a chimeric yellow fever virus with prM and E genes from the different dengue serotypes. However, recent results indicated that seronegative individuals became more susceptible to develop severe dengue when infected after vaccination, and now WHO recommends vaccination only to dengue seropositive people. One possibility to explain these data is the lack of robust T-cell responses and antibody-dependent enhancement of virus replication in vaccinated people. On the other hand, DNA vaccines are excellent inducers of T-cell responses in experimental animals and it can also elicit antibody production. Clinical trials with DNA vaccines have improved and shown promising results regarding the use of this approach for human vaccination. Therefore, in this paper we review preclinical and clinical tests with DNA vaccines against the dengue virus. Most of the studies are based on the E protein since this antigen is the main target for neutralizing antibody production. Yet, there are other reports with DNA vaccines based on non-structural dengue proteins with protective results, as well. Combining structural and non-structural genes may be a solution for inducing immune responses aging in different infection moments. Furthermore, DNA immunizations are also a very good approach in combining strategies for vaccines against dengue, in heterologous prime/boost regimen or even administering different vaccines at the same time, in order to induce efficient humoral and cellular immune responses.

Anti-Flavivirus Vaccines: Review of the Present Situation and Perspectives of Subunit Vaccines Produced in Escherichia coli

This article aims to review the present status of anti-flavivirus subunit vaccines, both those at the experimental stage and those already available for clinical use. Aspects regarding development of vaccines to Yellow Fever virus, (YFV), Dengue virus (DENV), West Nile virus (WNV), Zika virus (ZIKV), and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) are highlighted, with particular emphasis on purified recombinant proteins generated in bacterial cells. Currently licensed anti-flavivirus vaccines are based on inactivated, attenuated, or virus-vector vaccines. However, technological advances in the generation of recombinant antigens with preserved structural and immunological determinants reveal new possibilities for the development of recombinant protein-based vaccine formulations for clinical testing. Furthermore, novel proposals for multi-epitope vaccines and the discovery of new adjuvants and delivery systems that enhance and/or modulate immune responses can pave the way for the development of successful subunit vaccines. Nonetheless, advances in this field require high investments that will probably not raise interest from private pharmaceutical companies and, therefore, will require support by international philanthropic organizations and governments of the countries more severely stricken by these viruses.

Immunogenicity of a novel tetravalent dengue envelope protein domain III-based antigen in mice

Dengue virus is a mosquito-borne pathogen that causes dengue diseases. All four serotypes of dengue virus are infectious for humans. Therefore, an efficacious dengue vaccine should be tetravalent to provide protection against all types of virus. The goal of this study was to design a new tetravalent recombinant protein from envelope protein of dengue viruses to induce virus-neutralizing antibodies against all four serotypes in mice. A chimeric protein was designed from domain III of envelope protein of all serotypes of dengue virus. Four domain III fragments were linked together by alpha helix making linkers. The final sequence of the designed protein was analyzed in silico and the coding gene sequence was deduced by reverse translation. After cloning and expression of the recombinant protein (ED3-tetravalent protein), identity of the purified protein was confirmed using a pan-dengue specific monoclonal antibody in Western blotting. Then, the immunogenicity of the purified protein was studied in mice using antibody titration. The efficacy of induced antibodies in neutralization of the virus was studies by FRNT method. Furthermore, the induction of cellular immunity was studied by measurement of cytokines using ELISA method and measurement of lymphocyte proliferation using MTT assay. The ED3-tetravalent protein was able to enhance neutralizing immunogenic response against all four dengue serotypes; in similar way to that of tetravalent formulation of four individual domain III-based polypeptides. It is suggested that the ED3-tetravalent fusion protein can induce broadly neutralizing antibody responses against all four serotypes of dengue virus in mice.

Attenuated Salmonella Typhimurium delivery of a novel DNA vaccine induces immune responses and provides protection against duck enteritis virus

DNA vaccines are widely used to prevent and treat infectious diseases, cancer and autoimmune diseases; however, their relatively low immunogenicity is an obstacle to their use. In this study, we constructed a novel and universal DNA vaccine vector (pSS898) that can be used to build DNA vaccines against duck enteritis virus (DEV) and other viruses that require DNA vaccines to provide protection. This vaccine vector has many advantages, including innate immunogenicity, efficient nuclear trafficking and resistance to attack from nucleases. UL24 and tgB from DEV were chosen as the antigens, and the heat labile enterotoxin B subunit (LTB) from Escherichia coli and the IL-2 gene (DuIL-2) from duck were used as adjuvants for the construction of DNA vaccine plasmids. Ducklings that were orally immunized with S739 (Salmonella Typhimurium Δasd-66 Δcrp-24 Δcya-25) and harboring these DEV DNA vaccines produced strong mucosal and systemic immune responses, and they resisted an otherwise lethal DEV challenge. More importantly, S739 (UL24-LTB) provided 90% protection after a priming-boost immunization. This study shows that our novel and universal DNA vaccine vector can be used efficiently in practical applications and may provide a promising method of orally inoculating ducks with a DEV DNA vaccine delivered by attenuated Salmonella Typhimurium for prevention of DVE.

Dengue E Protein Domain III-Based DNA Immunisation Induces Strong Antibody Responses to All Four Viral Serotypes

Dengue virus (DENV) infection is a major emerging disease widely distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world affecting several millions of people. Despite constants efforts, no specific treatment or effective vaccine is yet available. Here we show a novel design of a DNA immunisation strategy that resulted in the induction of strong antibody responses with high neutralisation titres in mice against all four viral serotypes. The immunogenic molecule is an engineered version of the domain III (DIII) of the virus E protein fused to the dimerising CH3 domain of the IgG immunoglobulin H chain. The DIII sequences were also codon-optimised for expression in mammalian cells. While DIII alone is very poorly secreted, the codon-optimised fusion protein is rightly expressed, folded and secreted at high levels, thus inducing strong antibody responses. Mice were immunised using gene-gun technology, an efficient way of intradermal delivery of the plasmid DNA, and the vaccine was able to induce neutralising titres against all serotypes. Additionally, all sera showed reactivity to a recombinant DIII version and the recombinant E protein produced and secreted from mammalian cells in a mono-biotinylated form when tested in a conformational ELISA. Sera were also highly reactive to infective viral particles in a virus-capture ELISA and specific for each serotype as revealed by the low cross-reactive and cross-neutralising activities. The serotype specific sera did not induce antibody dependent enhancement of infection (ADE) in non-homologous virus serotypes. A tetravalent immunisation protocol in mice showed induction of neutralising antibodies against all four dengue serotypes as well.

Dengue disease is a mosquito-borne viral infection caused by Dengue virus (DENV), one of the most important human pathogens worldwide. DENV infection produces a systemic disease with a broad symptomatic spectrum ranging from mild febrile illness (Dengue Fever, DF) to severe haemorrhagic manifestations (Dengue Haemorrhagic fever and Dengue Shock Syndrome, DHF and DSS respectively). To date there is no vaccine available to prevent dengue disease. We show here a strategy of immunisation, tested in mice, that elicits a strong immune response against the four different DENV serotypes. The novelties presented in our work open the way to the development of an efficient vaccine accessible to developing countries.