A potential candidate for Zika virus vaccine 

---

Presentation Time: 11:30 AM - 12:45 PM
Poster Board Number: B913
Abstract ID: 4771

Presenting Author:
Wei-Yu Chen , research assistant at Natl. Taiwan Univ. Col. of Med.

Abstract:

Zika virus (ZIKV) caused a large outbreak in Brazil during 2015-2016 and sporadic cases globally. In light of the potential for the virus to reemerge, developing a potent Zika vaccine is crucial. In this study, we aimed to enhance the immunogenicity of ZIKV by isolating a single clone from clinical human isolates. Initial vaccination of Balb/c mice with inactivated clinical ZIKV (ZIKV-P0) failed to generate neutralizing antibodies. We turned to adapt the Virus in cell culture by serial passages in Vero cells and isolated a single clone by plaque purification. ZIKV-1_PP4, one of the purified clones, exhibited high titer and homogeneous morphology. Prime-boost immunization with inactivated ZIKV-1_PP4 antigen induced significant neutralizing antibody responses in Balb/c mice. Notably, when challenged with ZIKV, mice immunized with ZIKV-1_PP4 showed reduced susceptibility compared to those immunized with ZIKV-1_P0. Additionally, ZIKV-1_PP4 infection showed enhanced recruitment of innate immune cells, including neutrophils, monocytes, and DCs. Furthermore, DCs from ZIKV-1_PP4 infected mice expressed higher levels of costimulatory molecules, with elevated levels of IL-12, IFN-γ, IL-1β, and TNF-α. In summary, our study demonstrated that plaque-purified ZIKV-1_PP4 significantly triggered heightened activation of innate immune responses and improved the generation of neutralizing antibodies. These findings underscore the effectiveness of this vaccine candidate against ZIKV.