Maternal immunization with a DNA vaccine candidate elicits specific passive protection against post-natal Zika virus infection in immunocompetent BALB/c mice

Vaccine
Ran WangJing An

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is closely associated in the fetus with microcephaly and in the adults with Guillain-Barré syndrome and even male infertility. It is an urgent international priority to develop a safe and effective vaccine that offers protection to both women of childbearing age and their children. In this study, female immunocompetent BALB/c mice were immunized with a DNA-based vaccine candidate, pVAX1-ZME, expressing the prM/E protein of ZIKV, and the immunogenicity for maternal mice and the post-natal protection for suckling mice were evaluated. It was found that administration with three doses of 50 μg pVAX1-ZME via in vivo electroporation induced robust ZIKV-specific cellular and long-term humoral immune responses with high and sustained neutralizing activity in adult mice. Moreover, using a maternal immunization protocol, neutralizing antibodies provided specific passive protection against ZIKV infection in neonatal mice and effectively inhibited the growth delay. This vaccine candidate is expected to be further evaluated in higher animals, and maternal vaccination shows great promise for protecting both women of childbearing age and their offspring against post-natal ZIKV infection. The vaccinated mothers and ...Continue Reading

Citations

Nov 25, 2018·Vaccines·Khairunnisa Abdul GhaffarLaurent Renia
Mar 3, 2020·Frontiers in Immunology·Franciane Mouradian Emidio TeixeiraMaria Notomi Sato
Sep 5, 2019·Pharmaceuticals·Juan-Carlos Saiz
May 30, 2019·Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology·Ran WangJing An

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