Vanderbilt research could lead to vaccines and treatment for dengue virus

Researchers at Vanderbilt University and the National University of Singapore have determined the structure of a human monoclonal antibody which, in an animal model, strongly neutralizes a type of the potentially lethal dengue virus. The finding, reported on July 2 in the journal Science, could lead to the first effective therapies and vaccines against dengue, a complex of four distinct but related mosquito-borne viruses that infect about 390 million people a year and which are a leading cause of illness and death in the tropics. “Scientists in the antibody discovery group of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center continue to make great strides in developing novel antiviral drugs, such as this human antibody that not only kills dengue virus but also prevents enhanced dengue disease,” said co-corresponding author and center director James Crowe Jr., M.D., Ann Scott Carell Professor. The four “serotypes” of dengue are distinguished by different antigens, or proteins on the viral envelope...