CHARACTERIZATION OF A DENGUE TYPE-SPECIFIC ANTIGENIC SITE ON THE ENVELOPE PROTEIN DOMAIN III (ED3) OF DENGUE-3 VIRUS

Kiyohiko Matsui, Ph.D., and Alan D.T. Barrett, Ph.D.

Department of Pathology, Sealy Center for Vaccine Development, Center for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases and Institute for Human Infections and Immunity, UTMB

Background: Dengue (DEN) is the most important mosquito-borne virus disease in the World today and is caused by four serologically and genetically related virus called DENV-1, -2, -3, and -4 that together form the DEN complex of viruses. In this study, the epitopes recognized by a DENV-3 type specific monoclonal antibody (MAb) on envelope protein domain III (ED3) was mapped using a combination of physical and biological techniques. Materials and Methods: A total of 27 rED3 mutants were generated, each with a single amino acid substitution and used to physically map the epitopes recognized by MAbs. Biological assays involved hemagglutination inhibition and neutralization assays. Results: The residues V305, L306, K308, E309, V310, and G381 were critical for the binding of the DENV-3 type specific MAb. This work was supported by the Pediatric Dengue Vaccine Initiative.