Dengue Virus Vaccine Development

Dengue Virus Vaccine Development

As a flavivirus, Dengue virus (DENV) causes the mosquito-borne viral disease, dengue fever, the second most common mosquito-borne disease affecting humans after malaria. Dengue fever is one of the prominent public health problems due to the lack of effective vaccines in tropical and subtropical regions. About 400 million people are infected with dengue virus every year, and the patients present with tenderness and belly pain, vomiting at least thrice a day, epistaxis, hematemesis, melena, fatigue and restlessness, eventually leading to hemorrhagic fever and organ failure. The mortality rate of severe dengue patients is about 20%.

Overview of Dengue Virus

There are four viral serotypes of DENV: DENV1 to DENV4, which are transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. The clinical manifestations of dengue vary from asymptomatic to severe hemorrhagic fever, mainly in tropical and subtropical regions. DENV puts nearly one-third of the world's population at risk of infection and is becoming a global burden. Humans are the only hosts of DENV, and non-human primates may also be affected, except in some rural areas of Southeast Asia and West Africa.

DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3, and DENV-4. (Khetarpal N, et al., 2016)

Dengue Virus Genome

DENV carries a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA genome, approximately 10.6 kb in length, belonging to the Flaviviridae family, genus Flavivirus. The DENV genome encodes three structural proteins, namely capsid (C), premembrane (prM), envelope (E), and seven nonstructural proteins (NS1, NS2A, NS2B, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, and NS5).

Genome organization and membrane topology of DENV. (Khetarpal N, et al., 2016)

Dengue Virus Vaccine

Given the unpredictability and increasing frequency of dengue outbreaks, and the high incidence of such diseases that can overwhelm already weak health care systems, a dengue vaccine is urgently needed. Although challenges remain for the ideal dengue vaccine, the development of dengue vaccine candidates has also progressed over the past decade.

Dengue Virus VLP Vaccine

VLPs can mimic the organization and conformation of native viruses, and in addition to stimulating the host immune system to elicit a strong immune response, they can also be used to explore the mechanism of viral infection. In addition, VLPs are non-infectious due to lack of genetic material, showing a higher safety profile than conventional attenuated or inactivated vaccine candidates. Currently, the prM and E of DENV can be expressed in heterologous hosts and assembled into VLPs.

What Can We Do

CD BioSciences, a biotechnology pioneer and fast-growing leading global provider of scientific research and service solutions, has grown to become one of the world's largest independent biotechnology companies, with access to millions of researchers and partners worldwide. We use our expertise and extensive experience to help our customers develop Dengue virus vaccines. We are adept at customizing our services to meet the needs of our clients. If you are interested, please contact us.

Reference

1. Khetarpal N, Khanna I. Dengue Fever: Causes, Complications, and Vaccine Strategies. J Immunol Res. 2016, 20:1-40.