npj Vaccines (May 2021)

A chimeric dengue virus vaccine candidate delivered by high density microarray patches protects against infection in mice

  • Jovin J. Y. Choo,
  • Laura J. Vet,
  • Christopher L. D. McMillan,
  • Jessica J. Harrison,
  • Connor A. P. Scott,
  • Alexandra C. I. Depelsenaire,
  • Germain J. P. Fernando,
  • Daniel Watterson,
  • Roy A. Hall,
  • Paul R. Young,
  • Jody Hobson-Peters,
  • David A. Muller

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41541-021-00328-1
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 6, no. 1
pp. 1 – 10

Abstract

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Abstract Dengue viruses (DENV) cause an estimated 390 million infections globally. With no dengue-specific therapeutic treatment currently available, vaccination is the most promising strategy for its control. A wide range of DENV vaccines are in development, with one having already been licensed, albeit with limited distribution. We investigated the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of a chimeric virus vaccine candidate based on the insect-specific flavivirus, Binjari virus (BinJV), displaying the structural prM/E proteins of DENV (BinJ/DENV2-prME). In this study, we immunized AG129 mice with BinJ/DENV2-prME via a needle-free, high-density microarray patch (HD-MAP) delivery system. Immunization with a single, 1 µg dose of BinJ/DENV2-prME delivered via the HD-MAPs resulted in enhanced kinetics of neutralizing antibody induction when compared to needle delivery and complete protection against mortality upon virus challenge in the AG129 DENV mouse model.