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Development of Vaccines against Arboviruses
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Development of Vaccines against Arboviruses

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Immunology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 April 2024) | Viewed by 5664

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Daniela Santoro Rosa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, 04021-001, Brazil
Interests: vaccine

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Vaccines are the most successful strategy for preventing infectious diseases, saving millions of lives. In the past few years, vaccine development has evolved from traditional vaccine platforms (whole virus vaccines) to third-generation vaccines, such as genetic and viral vector vaccines. Such improvement in vaccine platforms has been substantially impacted by molecular biology research.

Arthropod-borne viruses, known as arboviruses, are widely distributed worldwide and the diseases caused by these viruses represent a global public health concern. In recent years, outbreaks of diseases caused by arboviruses have highlighted their significant social and economic impact. Despite substantial efforts, there are few licensed vaccines against arboviruses. This Special Issue focuses on the development and testing of vaccine candidates against arboviruses, with special focus on vaccines developed using molecular biology techniques. Submissions of Original Research Articles and Reviews are welcome, but not limited, to the following diseases:

  • Dengue
  • Chikungunya
  • Zika
  • Yellow fever
  • Japanese encephalitis
  • West Nile

Dr. Daniela Santoro Rosa
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • arbovirus
  • vaccine development
  • vaccine platforms
  • molecular biology techniques
  • immune response
  • preclinical evaluation
  • clinical testing

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

25 pages, 3483 KiB  
Article
Production of Recombinant Zika Virus Envelope Protein by Airlift Bioreactor as a New Subunit Vaccine Platform
by Hernan H. M. da Costa, Monica Bielavsky, Diego J. B. Orts, Sergio Araujo, Patrícia P. Adriani, Juliana S. Nogueira, Renato M. Astray, Ramendra P. Pandey, Marcelo Lancellotti, Jair P. Cunha-Junior and Carlos R. Prudencio
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(18), 13955; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241813955 - 11 Sep 2023
Viewed by 2498
Abstract
The Zika Virus (ZIKV) is an emerging arbovirus of great public health concern, particularly in the Americas after its last outbreak in 2015. There are still major challenges regarding disease control, and there is no ZIKV vaccine currently approved for human use. Among [...] Read more.
The Zika Virus (ZIKV) is an emerging arbovirus of great public health concern, particularly in the Americas after its last outbreak in 2015. There are still major challenges regarding disease control, and there is no ZIKV vaccine currently approved for human use. Among many different vaccine platforms currently under study, the recombinant envelope protein from Zika Virus (rEZIKV) constitutes an alternative option for vaccine development and has great potential for monitoring ZIKV infection and antibody response. This study describes a method to obtain a bioactive and functional rEZIKV using an E. coli expression system, with the aid of a 5-L airlift bioreactor and following an automated fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) protocol, capable of obtaining high yields of approximately 20 mg of recombinant protein per liter of bacterium cultures. The purified rEZIKV presented preserved antigenicity and immunogenicity. Our results show that the use of an airlift bioreactor for the production of rEZIKV is ideal for establishing protocols and further research on ZIKV vaccines bioprocess, representing a promising system for the production of a ZIKV envelope recombinant protein-based vaccine candidate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Vaccines against Arboviruses)
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14 pages, 1464 KiB  
Communication
The Continuous Adaptive Challenge Played by Arboviruses: An In Silico Approach to Identify a Possible Interplay between Conserved Viral RNA Sequences and Host RNA Binding Proteins (RBPs)
by Massimiliano Chetta, Anna Lisa Cammarota, Margot De Marco, Nenad Bukvic, Liberato Marzullo and Alessandra Rosati
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(13), 11051; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241311051 - 04 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1174
Abstract
Climate change and globalization have raised the risk of vector-borne disease (VBD) introduction and spread in various European nations in recent years. In Italy, viruses carried by tropical vectors have been shown to cause viral encephalitis, one of the symptoms of arboviruses, a [...] Read more.
Climate change and globalization have raised the risk of vector-borne disease (VBD) introduction and spread in various European nations in recent years. In Italy, viruses carried by tropical vectors have been shown to cause viral encephalitis, one of the symptoms of arboviruses, a spectrum of viral disorders spread by arthropods such as mosquitoes and ticks. Arboviruses are currently causing alarm and attention, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has released recommendations to adopt essential measures, particularly during the hot season, to restrict the spreading of the infectious agents among breeding stocks. In this scenario, rapid analysis systems are required, because they can quickly provide information on potential virus–host interactions, the evolution of the infection, and the onset of disabling clinical symptoms, or serious illnesses. Such systems include bioinformatics approaches integrated with molecular evaluation. Viruses have co-evolved different strategies to transcribe their own genetic material, by changing the host’s transcriptional machinery, even in short periods of time. The introduction of genetic alterations, particularly in RNA viruses, results in a continuous adaptive fight against the host’s immune system. We propose an in silico pipeline method for performing a comprehensive motif analysis (including motif discovery) on entire genome sequences to uncover viral sequences that may interact with host RNA binding proteins (RBPs) by interrogating the database of known RNA binding proteins, which play important roles in RNA metabolism and biological processes. Indeed, viral RNA sequences, able to bind host RBPs, may compete with cellular RNAs, altering important metabolic processes. Our findings suggest that the proposed in silico approach could be a useful and promising tool to investigate the complex and multiform clinical manifestations of viral encephalitis, and possibly identify altered metabolic pathways as targets of pharmacological treatments and innovative therapeutic protocols. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Vaccines against Arboviruses)
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Graphical abstract

22 pages, 4603 KiB  
Article
Heterologous DNA Prime- Subunit Protein Boost with Chikungunya Virus E2 Induces Neutralizing Antibodies and Cellular-Mediated Immunity
by Fernanda Caroline Coirada, Edgar Ruz Fernandes, Lucas Rodrigues de Mello, Viviane Schuch, Gúbio Soares Campos, Carla Torres Braconi, Silvia Beatriz Boscardin and Daniela Santoro Rosa
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(13), 10517; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241310517 - 23 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1330
Abstract
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has become a significant public health concern due to the increasing number of outbreaks worldwide and the associated comorbidities. Despite substantial efforts, there is no specific treatment or licensed vaccine against CHIKV to date. The E2 glycoprotein of CHIKV is [...] Read more.
Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has become a significant public health concern due to the increasing number of outbreaks worldwide and the associated comorbidities. Despite substantial efforts, there is no specific treatment or licensed vaccine against CHIKV to date. The E2 glycoprotein of CHIKV is a promising vaccine candidate as it is a major target of neutralizing antibodies during infection. In this study, we evaluated the immunogenicity of two DNA vaccines (a non-targeted and a dendritic cell-targeted vaccine) encoding a consensus sequence of E2CHIKV and a recombinant protein (E2*CHIKV). Mice were immunized with different homologous and heterologous DNAprime-E2* protein boost strategies, and the specific humoral and cellular immune responses were accessed. We found that mice immunized with heterologous non-targeted DNA prime- E2*CHIKV protein boost developed high levels of neutralizing antibodies, as well as specific IFN-γ producing cells and polyfunctional CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. We also identified 14 potential epitopes along the E2CHIKV protein. Furthermore, immunization with recombinant E2*CHIKV combined with the adjuvant AS03 presented the highest humoral response with neutralizing capacity. Finally, we show that the heterologous prime-boost strategy with the non-targeted pVAX-E2 DNA vaccine as the prime followed by E2* protein + AS03 boost is a promising combination to elicit a broad humoral and cellular immune response. Together, our data highlights the importance of E2CHIKV for the development of a CHIKV vaccine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Development of Vaccines against Arboviruses)
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