Because there are four types of dengue viruses, each capable of causing human disease via mosquito bites, scientists have struggled to develop one antibody test to accurately recognize each virus.
The four virus types also have challenged scientists trying to develop effective dengue vaccines and treatments, none of which exist.
Progress could change though, as explained in a recent study published in the Journal of Virology by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases scientists.
The group describes improvements made to the TetraPlex RVPNT test that provides simultaneous measures of infection-related antibody responses against all four virus types from a single clinical sample.
The researchers say the advance could eliminate the current need for cumbersome repeated testing for each virus type and to use in dengue epidemiology and vaccine studies to quickly evaluate antibody responses. They refer to the test as “a transformative tool.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that global incidence of dengue has markedly increased over the past two decades, posing a substantial public health challenge. From 2000 to 2019, the WHO documented a ten-fold surge in reported cases worldwide. In June, federal health officials issued a health alert warning of increased risk of dengue virus in the U.S.
READ THE SCIENCE:
Simultaneous quantitation of neutralizing antibodies against all four dengue virus serotypes using optimized reporter virus particles. Journal of Virology, 2 July 2024
Abstract:
Serum-neutralizing antibody titers are a critical measure of vaccine immunogenicity and are used to determine flavivirus seroprevalence in study populations. An effective dengue virus (DENV) vaccine must confer simultaneous protection against viruses grouped within four antigenic serotypes.
Existing flavivirus neutralization assays, including the commonly used plaque/focus reduction neutralization titer (PRNT/FRNT) assay, require an individual assay for each virus, serotype, and strain and easily become a labor-intensive and time-consuming effort for large epidemiological studies or vaccine trials.
Here, we describe a multiplex reporter virus particle neutralization titer (TetraPlex RVPNT) assay for DENV that allows simultaneous quantitative measures of antibody-mediated neutralization of infection against all four DENV serotypes in a single low-volume clinical sample and analyzed by flow cytometry.
Comparative studies confirm that the neutralization titers of antibodies measured by the TetraPlex RVPNT assay are similar to FRNT/PRNT assay approaches performed separately for each viral strain. The use of this high-throughput approach enables the careful serological study in DENV endemic populations and vaccine recipients required to support the development of a safe and effective tetravalent DENV vaccine.
Sources: NIAID, Journal of Virology