Protective immunity by an engineered DNA vaccine for Mayaro virus

Area of Science:

• Virology
• Immunology
• Vaccinology

Background:

• Mayaro virus (MAYV) is an emerging alphavirus causing febrile illness and persistent arthralgias.
• MAYV is spreading to new regions, including the Caribbean, via competent vectors like Aedes mosquitoes.
• Currently, no vaccines or therapeutics exist for Mayaro virus infection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate a novel DNA vaccine, scMAYV-E, against Mayaro virus.
• To assess the immunogenicity and protective efficacy of the scMAYV-E vaccine in a preclinical model.

Main Methods:

• Development of a DNA vaccine encoding a synthetic consensus Mayaro virus envelope sequence (scMAYV-E).
• In vivo electroporation-enhanced immunization of mice with the scMAYV-E vaccine.
• Assessment of humoral (neutralizing antibodies) and cellular (T-cell) immune responses.
• Evaluation of protection against Mayaro virus challenge in vaccinated mice.

Main Results:

• scMAYV-E vaccination induced potent humoral immune responses, including neutralizing antibodies against Mayaro virus.
• Robust T-cell responses targeting multiple epitopes within the Mayaro virus envelope were observed.
• Vaccinated mice demonstrated significant protection against Mayaro virus-induced morbidity and mortality.

Conclusions:

• The novel DNA vaccine scMAYV-E is immunogenic and elicits protective immunity against Mayaro virus.
• scMAYV-E represents a promising candidate for a Mayaro virus vaccine.
• Further development of this DNA vaccine could address the unmet medical need for Mayaro virus prevention.