Specificity and Breadth of the Neutralizing Antibody Response to a Live-Attenuated Tetravalent Dengue Vaccine( )

Background An effective dengue vaccine should ideally induce broadly neutralizing antibody (nAb) responses against all 4 dengue virus (DENV) serotypes. Methods We characterized the specificity and breadth of the nAb response to TAK-003, a live-attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine, in serum samples from phase 2 and 3 clinical trials. Results Microneutralization tests using postvaccination serum showed comparable neutralization against diverse DENV-1-4 genotypes. Reporter virus particle neutralization assays after depletion of anti-DENV-2 nAbs demonstrated that the nAb response to DENV-1, -3, and -4 comprises both type-specific (TS) and cross-reactive (CR) nAbs. Conclusions Therefore, TAK-003 induces broad tetravalent TS and CR nAb responses. We characterized the specificity and breadth of neutralizing antibody (nAb) response to a live-attenuated tetravalent dengue vaccine candidate and found that the nAb response comprised both type-specific and cross-reactive nAbs, with comparable neutralization of diverse dengue genotypes.