Discovery points to new approach to fight dengue virus

Researchers have discovered that rising temperature induces key changes in the dengue virus when it enters its human host, and the findings represent a new approach for designing vaccines against the aggressive mosquito-borne pathogen. The researchers found that the dengue virus particles swell slightly and take on a bumpy appearance when heated to human body temperature, exposing “epitopes,” or regions where antibodies could attach to neutralize the virus. The discovery is significant because it could help to explain why vaccines against dengue have been ineffective, said Michael G. Rossmann, Hanley Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences at Purdue University. Scientists have been designing vaccines targeting the virus’s smooth appearance found at the cooler temperatures of mosquitoes and ticks. “The bumpy form of the virus would be the form present in humans, so the optimal dengue virus vaccines should induce antibodies that preferentially recognize epitopes exposed in that form,” Rossmann said. The findings are detailed in a...