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Fulltext Synthetic B-Cell Epitopes Eliciting Cross-Neutralizing Antibodies: Strategies for Future Dengue Vaccine

Ramanathan B, Poh CL, Kirk K, McBride WJ, Aaskov J, Grollo L

PLoS One, 2016;11(5):e0155900.
PMID: 27223692 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155900

Dengue virus (DENV) is a major public health threat worldwide. A key element in protection from dengue fever is the neutralising antibody response. Anti-dengue IgG purified from DENV-2 infected human sera showed reactivity against several peptides when evaluated by ELISA and epitope extraction techniques. A multi-step computational approach predicted six antigenic regions within the E protein of DENV-2 that concur with the 6 epitopes identified by the combined ELISA and epitope extraction approach. The selected peptides representing B-cell epitopes were attached to a known dengue T-helper epitope and evaluated for their vaccine potency. Immunization of mice revealed two novel synthetic vaccine constructs that elicited good humoral immune responses and produced cross-reactive neutralising antibodies against DENV-1, 2 and 3. The findings indicate new directions for epitope mapping and contribute towards the future development of multi-epitope based synthetic peptide vaccine.
Fulltext First round of external quality assessment of dengue diagnostics in the WHO Western Pacific Region, 2013

Pok KY, Squires RC, Tan LK, Takasaki T, Abubakar S, Hasebe F, et al.

Western Pac Surveill Response J, 2015 Jun 30;6(2):73-81.
PMID: 26306220 DOI: 10.5365/WPSAR.2015.6.1.017

Accurate laboratory testing is a critical component of dengue surveillance and control. The objective of this programme was to assess dengue diagnostic proficiency among national-level public health laboratories in the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region.
Fulltext External quality assessment of dengue and chikungunya diagnostics in the Asia Pacific region, 2015

Soh LT, Squires RC, Tan LK, Pok KY, Yang H, Liew C, et al.

Western Pac Surveill Response J, 2016 04 22;7(2):26-34.
PMID: 27508088 DOI: 10.5365/WPSAR.2016.7.1.002

OBJECTIVE: To conduct an external quality assessment (EQA) of dengue and chikungunya diagnostics among national-level public health laboratories in the Asia Pacific region following the first round of EQA for dengue diagnostics in 2013.
METHODS: Twenty-four national-level public health laboratories performed routine diagnostic assays on a proficiency testing panel consisting of two modules. Module A contained serum samples spiked with cultured dengue virus (DENV) or chikungunya virus (CHIKV) for the detection of nucleic acid and DENV non-structural protein 1 (NS1) antigen. Module B contained human serum samples for the detection of anti-DENV antibodies.
RESULTS: Among 20 laboratories testing Module A, 17 (85%) correctly detected DENV RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), 18 (90%) correctly determined serotype and 19 (95%) correctly identified CHIKV by RT-PCR. Ten of 15 (66.7%) laboratories performing NS1 antigen assays obtained the correct results. In Module B, 18/23 (78.3%) and 20/20 (100%) of laboratories correctly detected anti-DENV IgM and IgG, respectively. Detection of acute/recent DENV infection by both molecular (RT-PCR) and serological methods (IgM) was available in 19/24 (79.2%) participating laboratories.
DISCUSSION: Accurate laboratory testing is a critical component of dengue and chikungunya surveillance and control. This second round of EQA reveals good proficiency in molecular and serological diagnostics of these diseases in the Asia Pacific region. Further comprehensive diagnostic testing, including testing for Zika virus, should comprise future iterations of the EQA.

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