Frontiers in Flavivirus Vaccines

A special issue of Vaccines (ISSN 2076-393X). This special issue belongs to the section "Vaccines against Tropical and other Infectious Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2022) | Viewed by 11088

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
Interests: vectors; arboviruses; virus ecology; animal models
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Guest Editor
Unit of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, San Juan 00936, Puerto Rico
Interests: basic research on flavivirus interactions at the molecular level and pathogenesis; vaccine development and characterization of novel viruses in non-human primate models
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The past three decades have been characterized by an unprecedented emergence of various zoonotic viral agents. Of these, viruses within the Flavivirus genus of the family Flaviviridae are of particular concern to human health, as demonstrated by the global spread of West Nile virus, the explosive outbreaks of Zika in the Americas, and the enormous disease burden of the four dengue viruses. While vaccines for some Flaviviruses (YFV, JEV, TBEV) do exist, there are regional disparities in availability and usage. With the trend towards urbanization, deforestation, and global travel facilitating greater human-animal contact as well as the spread of invasive arthropod vectors beyond their original ranges, additional and novel Flavivirus vaccines, vaccine formulations, and strategies will be critical going forward. To that end, the present Special Issue will address advances in, as well as novel Flavivirus vaccines, vaccination strategies, vaccine formulations or technologies, and animal models describing correlates of protection.

Dr. Sasha R. Azar
Dr. Carlos A. Sariol

Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Flavivirus vaccines
  • vaccine platforms
  • adjuvants
  • animal models
  • correlates of protection

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1507 KiB  
Article
A VLP-Based Vaccine Candidate Protects Mice against Japanese Encephalitis Virus Infection
by Limin Yang, Aibo Xiao, Hu Wang, Xiaojuan Zhang, Yuan Zhang, Yunlong Li, Yanqiu Wei, Wenjun Liu and Chuangfu Chen
Vaccines 2022, 10(2), 197; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines10020197 - 26 Jan 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3545
Abstract
Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is the leading cause of epidemic encephalitis in Asia, and vaccination is the most effective way to prevent JE. Although several licensed vaccines were widely used, there is still a demand for developing safer, cheaper, and more effective JE [...] Read more.
Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is the leading cause of epidemic encephalitis in Asia, and vaccination is the most effective way to prevent JE. Although several licensed vaccines were widely used, there is still a demand for developing safer, cheaper, and more effective JE vaccines. In the current study, a virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine candidate containing the envelope structural protein of JEV expressed by the Pichia pastoris was assembled in vitro. It elicited a robust humoral and cellular immune response in mice model, conferring immunodeficient mice complete protection against lethal doses of JEV challenge. Furthermore, pigs immunized with VLP alone without adjuvant via intramuscular produced high neutralizing antibodies against JEV. Consequently, this study showed a new design of JEV subunit vaccine based on VLP strategy and demonstrated the potential for clinical application. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Flavivirus Vaccines)
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13 pages, 1433 KiB  
Article
Developing a Stabilizing Formulation of a Live Chimeric Dengue Virus Vaccine Dry Coated on a High-Density Microarray Patch
by Jovin J. Y. Choo, Christopher L. D. McMillan, Germain J. P. Fernando, Roy A. Hall, Paul R. Young, Jody Hobson-Peters and David A. Muller
Vaccines 2021, 9(11), 1301; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9111301 - 9 Nov 2021
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2750
Abstract
Alternative delivery systems such as the high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) are being widely explored due to the variety of benefits they offer over traditional vaccine delivery methods. As vaccines are dry coated onto the HD-MAP, there is a need to ensure the stability [...] Read more.
Alternative delivery systems such as the high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) are being widely explored due to the variety of benefits they offer over traditional vaccine delivery methods. As vaccines are dry coated onto the HD-MAP, there is a need to ensure the stability of the vaccine in a solid state upon dry down. Other challenges faced are the structural stability during storage as a dried vaccine and during reconstitution upon application into the skin. Using a novel live chimeric virus vaccine candidate, BinJ/DENV2-prME, we explored a panel of pharmaceutical excipients to mitigate vaccine loss during the drying and storage process. This screening identified human serum albumin (HSA) as the lead stabilizing excipient. When bDENV2-coated HD-MAPs were stored at 4 °C for a month, we found complete retention of vaccine potency as assessed by the generation of potent virus-neutralizing antibody responses in mice. We also demonstrated that HD-MAP wear time did not influence vaccine deposition into the skin or the corresponding immunological outcomes. The final candidate formulation with HSA maintained ~100% percentage recovery after 6 months of storage at 4 °C. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Flavivirus Vaccines)
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21 pages, 7044 KiB  
Article
Enemy of My Enemy: A Novel Insect-Specific Flavivirus Offers a Promising Platform for a Zika Virus Vaccine
by Danielle L. Porier, Sarah N. Wilson, Dawn I. Auguste, Andrew Leber, Sheryl Coutermarsh-Ott, Irving C. Allen, Clayton C. Caswell, James A. Budnick, Josep Bassaganya-Riera, Raquel Hontecillas, James Weger-Lucarelli, Scott C. Weaver and Albert J. Auguste
Vaccines 2021, 9(10), 1142; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9101142 - 7 Oct 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3376
Abstract
Vaccination remains critical for viral disease outbreak prevention and control, but conventional vaccine development typically involves trade-offs between safety and immunogenicity. We used a recently discovered insect-specific flavivirus as a vector in order to develop an exceptionally safe, flavivirus vaccine candidate with single-dose [...] Read more.
Vaccination remains critical for viral disease outbreak prevention and control, but conventional vaccine development typically involves trade-offs between safety and immunogenicity. We used a recently discovered insect-specific flavivirus as a vector in order to develop an exceptionally safe, flavivirus vaccine candidate with single-dose efficacy. To evaluate the safety and efficacy of this platform, we created a chimeric Zika virus (ZIKV) vaccine candidate, designated Aripo/Zika virus (ARPV/ZIKV). ZIKV has caused immense economic and public health impacts throughout the Americas and remains a significant public health threat. ARPV/ZIKV vaccination showed exceptional safety due to ARPV/ZIKV’s inherent vertebrate host-restriction. ARPV/ZIKV showed no evidence of replication or translation in vitro and showed no hematological, histological or pathogenic effects in vivo. A single-dose immunization with ARPV/ZIKV induced rapid and robust neutralizing antibody and cellular responses, which offered complete protection against ZIKV-induced morbidity, mortality and in utero transmission in immune-competent and -compromised murine models. Splenocytes derived from vaccinated mice demonstrated significant CD4+ and CD8+ responses and significant cytokine production post-antigen exposure. Altogether, our results further support that chimeric insect-specific flaviviruses are a promising strategy to restrict flavivirus emergence via vaccine development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Frontiers in Flavivirus Vaccines)
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