npj Vaccines (May 2021)

Enhanced dengue vaccine virus replication and neutralizing antibody responses in immune primed rhesus macaques

  • Michael K. McCracken,
  • Caitlin H. Kuklis,
  • Chandrika B. Kannadka,
  • David A. Barvir,
  • Mark A. Sanborn,
  • Adam T. Waickman,
  • Hayden C. Siegfried,
  • Kaitlin A. Victor,
  • Kristin L. Hatch,
  • Rafael De La Barrera,
  • Shannon D. Walls,
  • Wiriya Rutvisuttinunt,
  • Jeffrey R. Currier,
  • Heather Friberg,
  • Richard G. Jarman,
  • Gregory D. Gromowski

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-021-00339-y
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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Abstract Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) is suspected to influence dengue virus (DENV) infection, but the role ADE plays in vaccination strategies incorporating live attenuated virus components is less clear. Using a heterologous prime-boost strategy in rhesus macaques, we examine the effect of priming with DENV purified inactivated vaccines (PIVs) on a tetravalent live attenuated vaccine (LAV). Sera exhibited low-level neutralizing antibodies (NAb) post PIV priming, yet moderate to high in vitro ADE activity. Following LAV administration, the PIV primed groups exhibited DENV-2 LAV peak viremias up to 1,176-fold higher than the mock primed group, and peak viremia correlated with in vitro ADE. Furthermore, PIV primed groups had more balanced and higher DENV-1–4 NAb seroconversion and titers than the mock primed group following LAV administration. These results have implications for the development of effective DENV vaccine prime-boost strategies and for our understanding of the role played by ADE in modulating DENV replication.