Generation and preclinical immunogenicity study of dengue type 2 virus-like particles derived from stably transfected mosquito cells

Suphatrakul, Amporn; Yasanga, Thippawan; Keelapang, Poonsook; Sriburi, Rungtawan; Roytrakul, Thaneeya; Pulmanausahakul, Rojjanaporn; Utaipat, Utaiwan; Kawilapan, Yanee; Puttikhunt, Chunya; Kasinrerk, Watchara; Yoksan, Sutee; Auewarakul, Prasert; Malasit, Prida; Charoensri, Nicha; Sittisombut, Nopporn

doi:10.1016/j.vaccine.2015.08.090

Cited by 26 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Assembly of these non-infectious particles using recombinant methods has been utilized to study protein function, morphogenesis and structure [27–29] and to generate flaviviruses vaccines, which have proven to be immunogenic [30]. We have found a new and effective strategy to assemble ZIKA VLPs and utilize them for vaccine development.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Zika virus-like particle (VLP) based vaccine

et al. 2017

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The newly emerged mosquito-borne Zika virus poses a major public challenge due to its ability to cause significant birth defects and neurological disorders. The impact of sexual transmission is unclear but raises further concerns about virus dissemination. No specific treatment or vaccine is currently available, thus the development of a safe and effective vaccine is paramount. Here we describe a novel strategy to assemble Zika virus-like particles (VLPs) by co-expressing the structural (CprME) and non-structural (NS2B/NS3) proteins, and demonstrate their effectiveness as vaccines. VLPs are produced in a suspension culture of mammalian cells and self-assembled into particles closely resembling Zika viruses as shown by electron microscopy studies. We tested various VLP vaccines and compared them to analogous compositions of an inactivated Zika virus (In-ZIKV) used as a reference. VLP immunizations elicited high titers of antibodies, as did the In-ZIKV controls. However, in mice the VLP vaccine stimulated significantly higher virus neutralizing antibody titers than comparable formulations of the In-ZIKV vaccine. The serum neutralizing activity elicited by the VLP vaccine was enhanced using a higher VLP dose and with the addition of an adjuvant, reaching neutralizing titers greater than those detected in the serum of a patient who recovered from a Zika infection in Brazil in 2015. Discrepancies in neutralization levels between the VLP vaccine and the In-ZIKV suggest that chemical inactivation has deleterious effects on neutralizing epitopes within the E protein. This along with the inability of a VLP vaccine to cause infection makes it a preferable candidate for vaccine development.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Zika virus-like particle (VLP) based vaccine

et al. 2017

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“…Virus-like particles (VLPs) offer an attractive non-replicating dengue vaccine alternative. It is well-known that DENV structural proteins prM and E, when co-expressed in heterologous hosts form non-infectious VLPs ( Wang et al, 2009 ; Kuwahara and Konishi, 2010 ; Liu et al, 2010 ; Tang et al, 2012 ; Suphatrakul et al, 2015 ). From a vaccine perspective, the E protein offers the ideal dengue immunogen.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pichia pastoris-Expressed Bivalent Virus-Like Particulate Vaccine Induces Domain III-Focused Bivalent Neutralizing Antibodies without Antibody-Dependent Enhancement in Vivo

et al. 2018

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Dengue, a significant public health problem in several countries around the world, is caused by four different serotypes of mosquito-borne dengue viruses (DENV-1, -2, -3, and -4). Antibodies to any one DENV serotype which can protect against homotypic re-infection, do not offer heterotypic cross-protection. In fact, cross-reactive antibodies may augment heterotypic DENV infection through antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). A recently launched live attenuated vaccine (LAV) for dengue, which consists of a mixture of four chimeric yellow-fever/dengue vaccine viruses, may be linked to the induction of disease-enhancing antibodies. This is likely related to viral interference among the replicating viral strains, resulting in an unbalanced immune response, as well as to the fact that the LAV encodes prM, a DENV protein documented to elicit ADE-mediating antibodies. This makes it imperative to explore the feasibility of alternate ADE risk-free vaccine candidates. Our quest for a non-replicating vaccine centered on the DENV envelope (E) protein which mediates virus entry into the host cell and serves as an important target of the immune response. Serotype-specific neutralizing epitopes and the host receptor recognition function map to E domain III (EDIII). Recently, we found that Pichia pastoris-expressed DENV E protein, of all four serotypes, self-assembled into virus-like particles (VLPs) in the absence of prM. Significantly, these VLPs displayed EDIII and elicited EDIII-focused DENV-neutralizing antibodies in mice. We now report the creation and characterization of a novel non-replicating recombinant particulate vaccine candidate, produced by co-expressing the E proteins of DENV-1 and DENV-2 in P. pastoris. The two E proteins co-assembled into bivalent mosaic VLPs (mVLPs) designated as mE1E2bv VLPs. The mVLP, which preserved the serotype-specific antigenic integrity of its two component proteins, elicited predominantly EDIII-focused homotypic virus-neutralizing antibodies in BALB/c mice, demonstrating its efficacy. In an in vivo ADE model, mE1E2bv VLP-induced antibodies lacked discernible ADE potential, compared to the cross-reactive monoclonal antibody 4G2, as evidenced by significant reduction in the levels of IL-6 and TNF-α, suggesting inherent safety. The results obtained with these bivalent mVLPs suggest the feasibility of incorporating the E proteins of DENV-3 and DENV-4 to create a tetravalent mVLP vaccine.

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“…Several studies have shown that prM and E can assemble together to form VLPs in the absence of viral genomic RNA 30 – 34 . However, in the light of the role of anti-prM antibodies in ADE, prM is an undesirable component of these VLPs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dengue envelope-based ‘four-in-one’ virus-like particles produced using Pichia pastoris induce enhancement-lacking, domain III-directed tetravalent neutralising antibodies in mice

Rajpoot

Shukla

Arora

et al. 2018

Sci Rep

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Dengue is a significant public health problem worldwide, caused by four antigenically distinct mosquito-borne dengue virus (DENV) serotypes. Antibodies to any given DENV serotype which can afford protection against that serotype tend to enhance infection by other DENV serotypes, by a phenomenon termed antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE). Antibodies to the viral pre-membrane (prM) protein have been implicated in ADE. We show that co-expression of the envelope protein of all four DENV serotypes, in the yeast Pichia pastoris, leads to their co-assembly, in the absence of prM, into tetravalent mosaic VLPs (T-mVLPs), which retain the serotype-specific antigenic integrity and immunogenicity of all four types of their monomeric precursors. Following a three-dose immunisation schedule, the T-mVLPs elicited EDIII-directed antibodies in mice which could neutralise all four DENV serotypes. Importantly, anti-T-mVLP antibodies did not augment sub-lethal DENV-2 infection of dengue-sensitive AG129 mice, based on multiple parameters. The ‘four-in-one’ tetravalent T-mVLPs possess multiple desirable features which may potentially contribute to safety (non-viral, prM-lacking and ADE potential-lacking), immunogenicity (induction of virus-neutralising antibodies), and low cost (single tetravalent immunogen produced using P. pastoris, an expression system known for its high productivity using simple inexpensive media). These results strongly warrant further exploration of this vaccine candidate.

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Generation and preclinical immunogenicity study of dengue type 2 virus-like particles derived from stably transfected mosquito cells

Cited by 26 publications

References 43 publications

Zika virus-like particle (VLP) based vaccine

Zika virus-like particle (VLP) based vaccine

Pichia pastoris-Expressed Bivalent Virus-Like Particulate Vaccine Induces Domain III-Focused Bivalent Neutralizing Antibodies without Antibody-Dependent Enhancement in Vivo

Dengue envelope-based ‘four-in-one’ virus-like particles produced using Pichia pastoris induce enhancement-lacking, domain III-directed tetravalent neutralising antibodies in mice

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