Linear B-cell epitopes on Zika virus´s envelope protein: a rational approach to determination of highly specific targets against Zika virus

Abstract

Introduction: Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus and belongs to the Flaviviridae family, like the related dengue, yellow fever, West Nile, and Japanese encephalitis viruses. Although ZIKV usually causes an asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic disease in infected adults, it can lead to severe brain abnormalities in fetuses, who are infected in utero by vertical transmission of the virus through the placenta, and is associated with serious neurological complications such Guillain-Barre syndrome and meningoencephalitis. Despite this, there are no specific treatments or vaccines against ZIKV. On this context, considering that the Envelope protein of Flavivirus is essential to invasion of host cells and is the major target of neutralizing antibodies, the identification of its immunogenic regions is a crucial step to the development of immunotherapies based on monoclonal antibodies and novel vaccines.