Safety and Immunogenicity of an Anti–Zika Virus DNA Vaccine

Abstract

Background Although Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is typically self-limiting, other associated complications such as congenital birth defects and the Guillain-Barré syndrome are well described. There are no approved vaccines against ZIKV infection. Methods In this phase 1, open-label clinical trial, we evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of a synthetic, consensus DNA vaccine (GLS-5700) encoding the ZIKV premembrane and envelope proteins in two groups of 20 participants each. The participants received either 1 mg or 2 mg of vaccine intradermally, with each injection followed by electroporation (the use of a pulsed electric field to introduce the DNA sequence into cells) at baseline, 4 weeks, and 12 weeks. Results The median age of the participants was 38 years, and 60% were women; 78% were white, and 22% black; in addition, 30% were Hispanic. At the interim analysis at 14 weeks (i.e., after the third dose of vaccine), no serious adverse events were reported. Local reactions at the vaccination site (e.g., injection-site pain, redness, swelling, and itching) occurred in approximately 50% of the participants. After the third dose of vaccine, binding antibodies (as measured on enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) were detected in all the participants, with geometric mean titers of 1642 and 2871 in recipients of 1 mg and 2 mg of vaccine, respectively. Neutralizing antibodies developed in 62% of the samples on Vero-cell assay. On neuronal-cell assay, there was 90% inhibition of ZIKV infection in 70% of the serum samples and 50% inhibition in 95% of the samples. The intraperitoneal injection of postvaccination serum protected 103 of 112 IFNAR knockout mice (bred with deletion of genes encoding interferon-α and interferon-β receptors) (92%) that were challenged with a lethal dose of ZIKV-PR209 strain; none of the mice receiving baseline serum survived the challenge. Survival was independent of the neutralization titer. Conclusions In this phase 1, open-label clinical trial, a DNA vaccine elicited anti-ZIKV immune responses. Further studies are needed to better evaluate the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. (Funded by GeneOne Life Science and others; ZIKA-001 ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02809443 .).

Zika virus vaccines

“…DNA vaccines can be developed and produced rapidly, and they can induce both humoral and cellular immune responses 46 . The first clinical assessment of safety and immunogenicity of a ZIKV DNA vaccine, expressing the ZIKV precursor membrane and envelope genes (prM-ENV), was led by GeneOne Life Science, Inc and Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc (clinical trial NCT02809443) 47 . A total of 40 participants were divided equally between 2 groups and received either a 1 mg or 2 mg dose of the GLS-5700 DNA vaccine by intradermal injection with electroporation at baseline, with boosts at week 4 and week 12 (Table 2).…”

Vaccine innovations for emerging infectious diseases—a symposium report

“…Weiner also stressed that DNA‐based vaccines can be manufactured quickly and are therefore suitable for rapid deployment in response to an emerging infection. Recent examples of rapid clinical translation include vaccines for Ebola (15 months), MERS (9 months), and Zika (6.5 months), which have consistently demonstrated high (>98%) immune response rates, including the induction of protective antibodies and T cell responses. Importantly, these immune potent synthetic DNA vaccines have been well tolerated.…”

Disaster Preparedness: Biological Threats and Treatment Options

“…In a recent study of a purified inactivated virus vaccine and a plasmid DNA vaccine, both of these induced Zika virus‐specific neutralizing antibodies and completely protected rhesus monkeys from Zika virus challenge . Currently, a vaccine candidate in phase 1 clinical trials has shown promising preliminary results …”