Building a Zika virus vaccine: From global health to virus–like particle technology

Zika virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that is associated with a wide range of congenital abnormalities and neurological disorders. Currently, there are no vaccines or antiviral strategies approved for use in the prevention or treatment of Zika. As part of our pledge to support global health, ATCC has developed several novel Zika virus-like particle (Zika-VLP)–based vaccine candidates that are designed to elicit a specific antibody response and provide interstrain protection. In this webinar, we will discuss the development of these vaccine candidates and will provide data demonstrating their ability to induce a strong immune response and provide a high level of protection against Zika virus in murine animal models.  

Key Points

• We have developed a chimeric Zika-VLP–based vaccine that elicits a protective immune response and prevents antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) and Guillian Barré Syndrome (GBS) in murine animal models. 
• Zika-VLPs containing the CD loop sub-structural domain from envelope protein domain III induced a strong antibody response against the Zika virus in mouse models after prime immunization. 
• The protective immunity of our novel Zika-VLP vaccine candidates is mediated by antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity and complement-dependent cytotoxicity.