The type-specific neutralizing antibody response elicited by a dengue vaccine candidate is focused on two amino acids of the envelope protein

PLoS Pathog. 2013;9(12):e1003761. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1003761. Epub 2013 Dec 5.

Abstract

Dengue viruses are mosquito-borne flaviviruses that circulate in nature as four distinct serotypes (DENV1-4). These emerging pathogens are responsible for more than 100 million human infections annually. Severe clinical manifestations of disease are predominantly associated with a secondary infection by a heterotypic DENV serotype. The increased risk of severe disease in DENV-sensitized populations significantly complicates vaccine development, as a vaccine must simultaneously confer protection against all four DENV serotypes. Eliciting a protective tetravalent neutralizing antibody response is a major goal of ongoing vaccine development efforts. However, a recent large clinical trial of a candidate live-attenuated DENV vaccine revealed low protective efficacy despite eliciting a neutralizing antibody response, highlighting the need for a better understanding of the humoral immune response against dengue infection. In this study, we sought to identify epitopes recognized by serotype-specific neutralizing antibodies elicited by monovalent DENV1 vaccination. We constructed a panel of over 50 DENV1 structural gene variants containing substitutions at surface-accessible residues of the envelope (E) protein to match the corresponding DENV2 sequence. Amino acids that contribute to recognition by serotype-specific neutralizing antibodies were identified as DENV mutants with reduced sensitivity to neutralization by DENV1 immune sera, but not cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies elicited by DENV2 vaccination. We identified two mutations (E126K and E157K) that contribute significantly to type-specific recognition by polyclonal DENV1 immune sera. Longitudinal and cross-sectional analysis of sera from 24 participants of a phase I clinical study revealed a markedly reduced capacity to neutralize a E126K/E157K DENV1 variant. Sera from 77% of subjects recognized the E126K/E157K DENV1 variant and DENV2 equivalently (<3-fold difference). These data indicate the type-specific component of the DENV1 neutralizing antibody response to vaccination is strikingly focused on just two amino acids of the E protein. This study provides an important step towards deconvoluting the functional complexity of DENV serology following vaccination.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acids / chemistry
  • Amino Acids / genetics
  • Amino Acids / immunology
  • Antibodies, Neutralizing / biosynthesis*
  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Antibody Formation* / genetics
  • Antibody Specificity
  • Clinical Trials, Phase I as Topic
  • Dengue Vaccines / immunology*
  • Dengue Virus / genetics
  • Dengue Virus / immunology*
  • Epitope Mapping
  • Epitopes / chemistry
  • Epitopes / immunology
  • HEK293 Cells
  • Humans
  • Models, Molecular
  • Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
  • Viral Envelope Proteins / chemistry*
  • Viral Envelope Proteins / genetics
  • Viral Envelope Proteins / immunology*

Substances

  • Amino Acids
  • Antibodies, Neutralizing
  • Antibodies, Viral
  • Dengue Vaccines
  • Epitopes
  • Viral Envelope Proteins