Jae-Deog Kim, Ah-Ra Lee, Dah-Hyun Moon, Young-Uk Chung, Su-Yeon Hong, Hyo Je Cho, Tae Hyun Kang, Yo Han Jang, Myung Hyun Sohn, Baik-Lin Seong, Sang-Uk Seo
Japanese encephalitis (JE), caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), is a highly threatening disease with no specific treatment. Fortunately, the development of vaccines has enabled effective defense against JE. However, re-emerging genotype V (GV) JEV poses a challenge as current vaccines are genotype III (GIII)-based and provide suboptimal protection. Given the isolation of GV JEVs from Malaysia, China, and the Republic of Korea, there is a concern about the potential for a broader outbreak. Under the hypothesis that a GV-based vaccine is necessary for effective defense against GV JEV, we developed a pentameric recombinant antigen using cholera toxin B as a scaffold and mucosal adjuvant, which was conjugated with the E protein domain III of GV by genetic fusion...
April 15, 2024: Emerging Microbes & Infections