Biologically Targeted Vaccine for Chikungunya

PROJECT SUMMARY ABSTRACT Chikungunya virusCHIKVis a mosquito transmitted alphavirus that causes explosive epidemics of a severe febrile illness characterized by debilitating polyarthralgia in humansCHIKV caused an estimatedmillion new cases in India alone inand has the potential to spread globally because of the distribution and abundance of its mosquito vectorsAedes aegypti and Aedes albopictusDuring recent outbreaks more severe forms of CHIKV were observedincluding encephalopathy and hemorrhagic feversuggesting the emergence of more virulent strainsCloser to the USinCHIKV has infected overmillion people in South America and on multiple island nations of the CaribbeanCurrentlyno specific treatment or vaccine is availableGiven its global burdenthe increased travel into CHIKV endemic areasand the worldwide spread of its mosquito vectorthere is a pressing need for the development of therapeutic agents and vaccines against CHIKVThereforein order to reduce the impact of this virus and the devastating polyarthralgia that it causeswe must develop new therapies and vaccines to treat persistent CHIKV infectionsThe goal of this project is to evaluate and optimize immunogenicity and protection of novel dendritic cell targeting Adenovirus CHIKVvaccines in animal models of CHIKV infectionWe will utilize our highly innovative DC targeting strategy in conjunction with a simian Adenoviral backbone to circumvent prior immunity to human AdenovirusesDevelopment of this highly tractable vaccine platform is critical for its use for vaccination against other pathogens and cancer PROJECT NARRATIVE Chikungunya virusCHIKVa NIAID Category C Biological Agentis a re emerging arbovirus that caused massive recent outbreaks in the Indian Ocean and South America Caribbean regions increasing worldwide awareness of this debilitating and potentially lethal virusSince no effective vaccines or therapeutics are currently availabletreatments for CHIKV infection are limited to supportive care to reduce discomfortWe will develop a novel vaccine platform that targets antigen delivery to specific immune cells critical for antigen presentation to enhance vaccine efficacy against CHIKV