Dengue virus envelope protein domain I/II hinge: a key target for dengue virus vaccine design?

Dengue virus is the most significant arboviral pathogen worldwide with nearly 400 million infections annually and half the global population at risk of disease. Despite this tremendous public health burden, there are no licensed treatments or vaccines to prevent dengue in humans. Results from clinical trials of leading vaccine candidates have demonstrated that our current understanding of the correlates of protection from dengue is incomplete, and as such vaccine performance has been moderate, but with considerable room for improvement. Here we highlight new findings revealing key neutralizing epitopes that regulate serotype-specific immunity, and discuss their implications for design and evaluation of future vaccine candidates.