Screening test for neutralizing antibodies against yellow fever virus, based on a flavivirus pseudotype

Séverine Mercier-Delarue (1) , Christine Durier (2) , N.C. de Verdière (3) , Jean-Dominique Poveda (4) , Vincent Meiffrédy (2) , M.D. Fernandez Garcia (5) , Stéphane Lastère (6) , R. Césaire (7) , Jean-Claude Manuggera (8) , Jean-Michel Molina (3) , Ali Amara (5) , Francois Simon (1)

1 Laboratoire de microbiologie
2 Essais Thérapeutiques et Maladies Infectieuses
3 Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Tropicales [CHU Saint Louis]
4 Laboratoire CERBA
5 Pathologie cellulaire : aspects moléculaires et viraux / Pathologie et Virologie Moléculaire
6 Centre Hospitalier de Polynésie Française
7 CHU Fort de France
8 ERI - Environnement et Risques infectieux - Environment and Infectious Risks

Given the possibility of yellow fever virus reintroduction in epidemiologically receptive geographic areas, the risk of vaccine supply disruption is a serious issue. New strategies to reduce the doses of injected vaccines should be evaluated very carefully in terms of immunogenicity. The plaque reduction test for the determination of neutralizing antibodies (PRNT) is particularly time-consuming and requires the use of a confinement laboratory. We have developed a new test based on the use of a non-infectious pseudovirus (WN/YF17D). The presence of a reporter gene allows sensitive determination of neutralizing antibodies by flow cytometry. This WN/YF17D test was as sensitive as PRNT for the follow-up of yellow fever vaccinees. Both tests lacked specificity with sera from patients hospitalized for acute Dengue virus infection. Conversely, both assays were strictly negative in adults never exposed to flavivirus infection or vaccination, and in patients sampled some time after acute Dengue infection. This WN/YF17D test will be particularly useful for large epidemiological studies and for screening for neutralizing antibodies against yellow fever virus.

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]

Séverine Mercier-Delarue, Christine Durier, N.C. de Verdière, Jean-Dominique Poveda, Vincent Meiffrédy, et al.. Screening test for neutralizing antibodies against yellow fever virus, based on a flavivirus pseudotype. PLoS ONE, 2017, 12 (5), pp.e0177882. ⟨10.1371/journal.pone.0177882⟩. ⟨pasteur-01570232⟩