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
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.