Rational design of flavivirus E protein vaccine optimizes immunogenicity and mitigates antibody dependent enhancement risk

Abstract

Abstract Flaviviruses are a family of related viruses that cause substantial global morbidity and mortality. Vaccination against one flavivirus can sometimes exacerbate disease caused by related viruses through antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) or interfere with the efficacy of subsequent vaccines. To address this challenge, we develop a vaccine strategy by introducing G5C/G102C mutations into the flavivirus envelope (E) glycoprotein. These mutations promote E dimerization through the formation of an inter-chain disulfide bond that conceals the immunodominant and ADE-prone fusion loop epitope (FLE). We validate this design on E proteins from multiple flaviviruses through biochemical, antigenic, and structural analyses. The resulting vaccine candidate, CC_FLE sE, derived from the Zika virus (ZIKV) and formulated with an advanced supramolecular adjuvant, provides significant protection in female mice challenged with ZIKV and prevents ADE caused by a related flavivirus, Dengue virus. In genetically modified mice expressing diverse human immunoglobulin loci, ZIKV CC_FLE sE induces robust neutralizing antibody responses targeting key ZIKV E protein epitopes, including the E-dimer–dependent epitope (EDE), indicating that ZIKV CC_FLE sE can elicit protective antibody responses within the human naïve B cell repertoire. Therefore, CC_FLE sE represents a promising strategy for developing flavivirus vaccines that minimize ADE risk while maintaining high protective efficacy.