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| Author(s): |
Rúbens Prince dos Santos Alves
Total Authors: 1
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| Document type: | Master's Dissertation |
| Press: | São Paulo. |
| Institution: | Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas (ICB/SDI) |
| Defense date: | 2015-07-17 |
| Examining board members: |
Luis Carlos de Souza Ferreira;
Ronaldo Zucatelli Mendonça;
Armando Morais Ventura
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| Advisor: | Luis Carlos de Souza Ferreira |
| Abstract | |
Dengue fever is a disease affecting millions of people worldwide and causing a significant number of deaths. There are no effective treatments or vaccine approaches capable of preventing such infection. Anti-DENV vaccine strategies based on nonstructural proteins as antigens have been shown to be safer than those based on structural proteins. The DENV nonstructural protein 5 (NS5), plays a crucial role in viral replication. In this study, we generated a recombinant form of DENV2 NS5 expressed in E. coli in high amounts and with preserved antigenic properties with regard to the native protein. Culture conditions were optimized in order to allow expression of NS5 as a soluble protein. The immunization of Balb/c mice using this protein alone or in combination with poly (I:C) led to increased survival after intracranial challenge with the DENV2 JHA1 strain. The combination of the protein with poly (I:C) emulsified in Montanide 720 led to the activation of NS5-specific CD8+ T lymphocytes. Altogether, the results indicate that the recombinant NS5 protein preserves antigenic determinants of the native protein and may be a useful tool for studies dealing with the DENV\'s biology, search for anti-viral drugs and vaccine development. (AU) | |
| FAPESP's process: | 12/21077-9 - Development of a subunit vaccine against the dengue virus serotype 2 based on the non-structural protein NS5 |
| Grantee: | Rúbens Prince dos Santos Alves |
| Support Opportunities: | Scholarships in Brazil - Master |