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Recent worldwide outbreaks of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection and the lack of an approved vaccine raise serious concerns regarding preparedness to combat this emerging virus. We used a virus-like particle (VLP)-based approach to develop a vaccine and a microneutralization assay for ZIKV. A synthetic capsid-premembrane-envelope (CprM-E) gene construct of ZIKV was used to generate reporter virus particles (RVPs) that package a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter-expressing West Nile virus (WNV) replicon. The assay was adapted to a 96-well format, similar to the plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT), and showed high reproducibility with specific detection of ZIKV neutralizing antibodies. Furthermore, C-prM-E and prM-E VLPs were tested as vaccine candidates in mice and compared to DNA vaccination. While the ZIKV prM-E construct alone was sufficient for generating VLPs, efficient VLP production from the C-prM-E construct could be achieved in the presence of the WNV NS2B-3 protease, which cleaves C from prM, allowing virus release. Immunization studies in mice showed that VLPs generated higher neutralizing antibody titers than those with the DNA vaccines, with C-prM-E VLPs giving slightly higher titers than those with prM-E VLPs. The superiority of C-prM-E VLPs suggests that inclusion of capsid may have benefits for ZIKV and other flaviviral VLP vaccines. To facilitate the VLP platform, we generated a stable cell line expressing high levels of ZIKV prM-E proteins that constitutively produce VLPs as well as a cell line expressing ZIKV C-prM-E proteins for RVP production. While several vaccine platforms have been proposed for ZIKV, this study describes a safe, effective, and economical VLP-based vaccine against ZIKV.IMPORTANCE To address the growing Zika virus epidemic, we undertook this study with two objectives: first, to develop a safe, effective, and economical vaccine for ZIKV, and second, to develop a rapid and versatile assay to detect the anti-ZIKV immune response. We generated a cell line stably expressing ZIKV prM-E that produces large amounts of VLPs in the supernatant and a ZIKV C-prM-E cell line that produces reporter virus particles upon transfection with a GFP replicon plasmid. The prM-E VLPs induced a strong neutralizing antibody response in mice that was better when the capsid was included. VLP-based vaccines showed significantly better neutralizing antibody responses than those with their DNA counterparts. The RVP-based microneutralization assay worked similarly to the PRNT assay, with a rapid GFP readout in a 96-well format. Our VLP-based platform provides a source for a ZIKV vaccine and diagnosis that can rapidly be adapted to current outbreaks.KEYWORDS C-prM-E, diagnostics, microneutralization, neutralization, PRNT, reporter, reporter virus particles, vaccine, Zika, prM-E S ince the identification of Zika virus (ZIKV) from a rhesus monkey in Uganda in 1947 (1, 2) until 2010, the virus predominantly circulated between Aedes mosquitoes and nonhuman primates. Periodic episodes were inde...

The mechanism behind the selective depletion of CD4+ cells in HIV infections remains undetermined. Although HIV selectively infects CD4+ cells, the relatively few infected cells in vivo cannot account for the extent of CD4+ T cell depletion suggesting indirect or bystander mechanisms. The role of virus replication, Env glycoprotein phenotype and immune activation (IA) in this bystander phenomenon remains controversial. Using samples derived from HIV-infected patients; we demonstrate that while IA in both CD4+ and CD8+ subsets correlates with CD4 decline, apoptosis in CD4+ and not CD8+ cells is associated with disease progression. As HIV-1 Env glycoprotein has been implicated in bystander apoptosis, we cloned full length Envs from plasma of viremic patients and tested their Apoptosis Inducing Potential (AIP). Interestingly, AIP of HIV-1 Env glycoproteins were found to correlate inversely with CD4:CD8 ratios suggesting a role of Env phenotype in disease progression. In vitro mitogenic stimulation of PBMCs resulted in upregulation of IA markers but failed to alter the CD4:CD8 ratio. However, co-culture of normal PBMCs with Env expressing cells resulted in selective CD4 loss that was significantly enhanced by IA. Our study demonstrates that AIP of HIV-1 Env and IA collectively determine CD4 loss in HIV infection.