New strategy to disarm the dengue virus

A new strategy that cripples the ability of the dengue virus to escape the host immune system has been discovered by A*STAR’s Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN). This strategy could lead to the world’s first universal dengue vaccine candidate that can give full protection from all four serotypes of the virus. This research done in collaboration with Singapore’s Novartis Institute of Tropical Diseases (NITD) and Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology is published in the PlosPathogens journal, and is also supported by Singapore STOP Dengue Translational and Clinical Research (TCR) Programme grant. Early studies have shown that a sufficiently weakened virus, that is still strong enough to generate protective immune response, offers the best hope for an effective vaccine. However, over the years of vaccine development, scientists have learnt that the path to finding a virus of appropriate strength is fraught with challenges. This hurdle is compounded by the complexity of the...