U01AI153416

Living in the Post-Zika World: Impact of Interactions between Dengue and Zika Viruses on Diagnostics, Antibody Dynamics, and Correlates of Disease Risk - Summary

Worldwide, over 3 billion people are at risk of infection and disease caused by Dengue Virus 1-4 (DENV1-4) and Zika Virus (ZIKV), both potentially severe flaviviral diseases transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes. The devastating effects of endemic dengue across the tropics and sub-tropics are well-documented. The recent Zika pandemic galvanized research as Zika swept across Latin America. Three years after the peak of the Zika pandemic, major dengue epidemics have started to re-occur; however, the future of flaviviral disease across areas with widespread ZIKV immunity is unknown.

In this R01, we propose to develop new tools and address key knowledge gaps in flaviviral transmission and immunological interactions between DENV and ZIKV to understand how widespread ZIKV immunity impacts subsequent dengue disease and to inform evaluation of dengue and Zika clinical vaccine trials and post-licensure studies. Based on our serological, epidemiological, and clinical data to date, our overall hypothesis is that DENV1-4 and ZIKV are antigenically closely related and that immune interactions mutually affect transmission and disease severity.

We will address this hypothesis with the ongoing Pediatric Dengue Cohort Study (PDCS, 2004-present), a community-based prospective cohort study in Managua, Nicaragua, following ~4,000 children, now in its 17th year. Samples from the PDCS, as well as companion studies in Managua, provide documented infection and disease data, as well as banked serum samples for over a decade before the arrival of ZIKV. The proposed study extends the cohort, ensuring that we are able to fully document the interactions of these viruses from the pre- to post-Zika eras.

In Aim 1, we will develop innovative serologic tools based on glycan-fusion-loop-masked envelope proteins and new algorithms to distinguish DENV and ZIKV infection histories, critical for vaccination and epidemiological studies of dengue and Zika. We will then test our hypothesis that pre-existing ZIKV immunity can enhance disease severity caused by DENV3 but protect against DENV1.

In Aim 2, we will measure changes in anti-DENV and anti-ZIKV antibody-mediated immunity over time, estimate annual changes in protective and enhancing population immunity to each virus, collect entomological data, and use modeling approaches to evaluate population susceptibility to DENV and ZIKV infection and the potential for future epidemics by incorporating immunological and entomological data.

In Aim 3, we will identify determinants of protective and disease-enhancing antibody-mediated immunity of prior DENV infection on Zika and prior ZIKV infection on dengue disease and severity. With the support of expert collaborators, we will use state-of-the-art tools (e.g., new monoclonal antibodies, innovative flavivirus antigens, and antibody FC profiling) to analyze specific infection histories and uncover potential immune correlates.

Overall, this program will define new vaccine companion diagnostic assays, the dynamics of the antibody response to DENV and ZIKV, and correlates of protection and pathogenesis for dengue and Zika, which should be useful for the development and evaluation of dengue and Zika vaccines.

Regents Of The University Of California

TO ASSIST PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NONPROFIT INSTITUTIONS AND INDIVIDUALS TO ESTABLISH, EXPAND AND IMPROVE BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS, TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS. TO ASSIST PUBLIC, PRIVATE AND COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS TO CONDUCT DEVELOPMENTAL RESEARCH, TO PRODUCE AND TEST RESEARCH MATERIALS, TO PROVIDE RESEARCH SERVICES AS REQUIRED BY THE AGENCY FOR PROGRAMS IN INFECTIOUS DISEASES, AND CONTROLLING DISEASE CAUSED BY INFECTIOUS OR PARASITIC AGENTS, ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES AND RELATED AREAS. PROJECTS RANGE FROM STUDIES OF MICROBIAL PHYSIOLOGY AND ANTIGENIC STRUCTURE TO COLLABORATIVE TRIALS OF EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS AND VACCINES, MECHANISMS OF RESISTANCE TO ANTIBIOTICS AS WELL AS RESEARCH DEALING WITH EPIDEMIOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS IN HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS OR COMMUNITY POPULATIONS AND PROGRESS IN ALLERGIC AND IMMUNOLOGIC DISEASES. BECAUSE OF THIS DUAL FOCUS, THE PROGRAM ENCOMPASSES BOTH BASIC RESEARCH AND CLINICAL RESEARCH. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM EXPANDS AND IMPROVES PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH. THE SBIR PROGRAM INTENDS TO INCREASE AND FACILITATE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. THE SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM STIMULATES AND FOSTERS SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION OF SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND WOMEN-OWNED SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS IN TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION. RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT AWARDS SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SCIENTISTS DURING THE FORMATIVE STAGES OF THEIR CAREERS. INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS (NRSAS) ARE MADE DIRECTLY TO APPROVE APPLICANTS FOR RESEARCH TRAINING IN SPECIFIED BIOMEDICAL SHORTAGE AREAS. IN ADDITION, INSTITUTIONAL NATIONAL RESEARCH SERVICE AWARDS ARE MADE TO ENABLE INSTITUTIONS TO SELECT AND MAKE AWARDS TO INDIVIDUALS TO RECEIVE TRAINING UNDER THE AEGIS OF THEIR INSTITUTIONAL PROGRAM.

93.855 - Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [HHS - NIH]

Berkeley, California 947200001 United States

Single Zip Code

NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) (PA-20-185)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 398% from $984,840 to $4,905,886.