24The kinetics and specificity of antibody responses against Zika virus (ZIKV) are not well-25 characterized. This is due, in part, to the antigenic similarity between ZIKV and closely 26 related Dengue virus (DENV) serotypes. Since these and other similar viruses co-27 circulate and are spread by the same mosquito species, it is difficult to disentangle 28 ZIKV-specific antibody responses from responses to closely-related arboviruses in 29 humans. Here we use high-density peptide microarrays to differentiate ZIKV from DENV 30 antibody reactivity in pregnant and non-pregnant macaque monkeys with known 31 exposure histories. We independently confirm a ZIKV-specific IgG antibody response 32 targeting ZIKV nonstructural protein 2B (NS2B) that was recently reported in ZIKV-33 infected people and show that antibody reactivity in pregnant animals can be detectable 34 as late as 113 days post-infection (dpi). We also show, however, these responses wane 35 over time, and in one case the response was elicited following DENV infection in a 36 previously ZIKV-exposed animal. The generally weak and short-lived antibody 37 responses to this NS2B epitope, the only reliably ZIKV-specific epitope identified to date 38 to our knowledge, suggest epidemiologic studies assessing seroprevalence specifically 39 to ZIKV using linear epitope-based strategies may be prone to false negative or 40 otherwise confounded results. These results additionally indicate some antibodies 41 produced in response to ZIKV infection are in circulation for only a short period of time. 42
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IMPORTANCE 44Infection with ZIKV during pregnancy can lead to congenital ZIKV infection and 45 associated birth defects. The vulnerability of communities to future ZIKV outbreaks will 46 . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license It is made available under a (which was not peer-reviewed) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity.The copyright holder for this preprint . http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/352880 doi: bioRxiv preprint first posted online 3 depend, in part, on the prevalence of immunity, which is thought to be mediated 47 principally by antibodies. We currently lack diagnostic assays to differentiate ZIKV-48 specific antibodies from antibodies directed against closely related DENV and we do not 49 know how long anti-ZIKV responses persist. Here we profile antibodies recognizing 50 linear epitopes throughout the entire ZIKV and DENV polyproteins and show that while 51 ZIKV-specific antibody responses can be detected, these responses are generally weak 52 and ephemeral. This may complicate efforts to identify people previously infected with 53 ZIKV and to determine ZIKV seroprevalence, and it raises questions about the utility of 54 linear epitope-based technologies in defining ZIKV infection history. 55
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INTRODUCTION
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