Editor: Akhmetova Aigerim
Author: Bolysbek Dana
Associate Professor Daniel Watterson of UQ's School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences said the team identified an antibody that improved survival in laboratory tests and reduced the presence of the virus in the blood.
In 2015, after the Zika virus outbreak, a team of scientists led by Watterson made a discovery that identified a new target for the treatment of flaviviruses - the viral protein NS1.
Now, it is known that a single antibody to NS1 can protect against several flaviviruses, including dengue, Zika virus and West Nile virus. NS1 is a key factor in the pathogenesis of flaviviruses, acting through direct induction of endothelial dysfunction and pro-inflammatory cytokines from immune cells. NS1 is secreted by infected cells and circulates in large amounts in the blood of infected patients, providing a controlled target for antibody-based blockade of NS1-mediated functions.
Dr Watterson said the discovery was important because developing a vaccine against viruses such as dengue is an unsolved global problem. Creating vaccines and treatments has been significantly difficult because antibodies targeting the main protein of the viral envelope can also amplify the disease. This phenomenon is called antibody-dependent infection enhancement (ADE), and it has contributed to the complications resulting from the large-scale introduction of the first licensed dengue vaccine. But since NS1 antibodies do not cause ADE, the results of this study provide the basis for new and safe broad-spectrum vaccines against several flaviviruses, including dengue."
Dr Nafak Modhiran, lead author from UQ, said the antibody could also provide the first line of defense against future viral outbreaks around the world.
"The antibody binds to a wide range of flaviviruses, including the Usuto virus in Europe and the Rocio and Ilheus viruses in South America," Dr. Modhiran said.
Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/371/6525/190
