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Explore the innovative development of Zika virus-like particle (VLP) vaccines in this webinar from the Journal of Virology Seminar Series. Join Dr. Gorben Pijlman and Dr. Monique van Oers from Wageningen University as they detail their research journey from early VLP candidates that failed to provide protective immunity to a breakthrough vaccine that successfully protects against viremia and testicular damage in animal models. Discover how stabilizing E dimer formation with the A264C substitution and utilizing an adapted Sf9 insect cell line grown in suspension at pH 7 proved essential for achieving immunogenicity. Learn about the critical importance of presenting immunogens in their native quaternary structure with pre-fusion conformation to enhance vaccine effectiveness. The presentation demonstrates how authentic quaternary epitopes significantly improve protective immunity against Zika virus infection. Gain insights into the technical challenges overcome during vaccine development, including optimization of cell culture conditions and structural modifications necessary for maintaining proper protein folding. Understand the implications of this research for future flavivirus vaccine development and the broader applications of VLP technology in vaccine design.
