Discrete Cross-Reactive Epitopes for Flavivirus Serological Diagnostics and Vaccines

CDC researchers have identified and characterized discrete flavivirus cross-reactive epitopes useful for improving serodiagnosis and vaccination of flaviviruses, such as dengue virus, yellow fever virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, West Nile virus and the tick-borne encephalitis viruses.

The flavivirus envelope glycoprotein is one of the primary antigens inducing protective immunity in a host. Human flavivirus infections stimulate virus species-specific as well as flavivirus-genus cross-reactive immune responses. These cross-reactive antibodies create a serious problem for serodiagnosis, especially for secondary flavivirus infections, due to the difficulty of differentiating primary from secondary cross-reactive serum antibodies. Additionally, the presence of subneutralizing levels of flavivirus cross-reactive serum antibodies in an individual may result in a dramatic increase in the severity of secondary flavivirus infections via antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE), as commonly seen with multi-serotype dengue virus infection.

To that end, the identification and characterization of amino acids incorporated into these flavivirus cross-reactive epitopes extends practical understanding of structure-function relationships important for flavivirus immunopathology. This CDC antigen-epitope technology provides important tools and insights for improving flavivirus serodiagnosis, researching the pathogenesis of ADE, and advancing the development of safe and effective flavivirus vaccines.

Potential Commercial Applications:		Competitive Advantages:
Flavivirus vaccine development Improved serological diagnostics for flaviviruses such as dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, West Nile and the tick-borne encephalitis viruses Research of flavivirus-related antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) pathologies		Technology circumvents flavivirus serodiagnostic issues associated with cross-reactive antibody detection and non-specific flavivirus infection diagnoses May provide unique solutions for development of flavivirus-genus or species-specific vaccines

Development Stage:

• In vitro data available

Inventors:

Gwong-Jen Chang (CDC)  ➽ more inventions...

Wayne Crill (CDC)  ➽ more inventions...


Intellectual Property:
U.S. Pat: 7,906,292 issued 2011-03-15
U.S. Pat: 9,000,141 issued 2015-04-07
U.S. Pat: 9,650,422 issued 2017-05-16
US Application No. 12/892,714
US Application No. 14/659,251
Various international patents pending and issued

Publications:
Crill WD, et al. PMID 15564505
Chang GJ, et al. PMID 12620809

Licensing Contact:
Jeremiah Mitzelfelt,
Email: jeremiah.mitzelfelt@nih.gov
Phone: 301-443-8518

OTT Reference No: E-333-2013-0
Updated: May 15, 2014