How the immune system responds to dengue vaccines and infection
Immune phenotyping of human immune responses to dengue vaccination and challenge
This project compares immune reactions in people given different dengue vaccine formulations to find why one vaccine fully prevented DENV-2 infection while another did not.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (New York, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11481645 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would be hearing about immune features measured in people who received either a four-serotype live dengue vaccine (TV003) or a three-serotype mix missing DENV-2, and some volunteers were later exposed to a weakened DENV-2 virus. Researchers will use stored blood cells (PBMCs) and other samples from those clinical trials and profile innate and adaptive immune responses over time. Labs will run detailed immune cell and genetic tests using multiparameter assays to map which responses track with protection or breakthrough infection. The goal is to link specific cellular and molecular signatures to whether someone was protected from viremia and rash after DENV-2 challenge.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are people who have received experimental dengue vaccines or who would consider joining dengue vaccine or controlled human challenge trials.
Not a fit: People seeking immediate clinical treatment for acute dengue illness or those ineligible for vaccine trials (for example, severely immunocompromised individuals) are unlikely to benefit directly from participating.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help design safer, more effective dengue vaccines that protect against all four serotypes.
How similar studies have performed: Previous challenge work showed TV003 provided complete protection against DENV-2 while the trivalent mix provided much less protection, but the detailed cellular mechanisms remain to be defined.
Where this research is happening
New York, United States
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai — New York, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fernandez-Sesma, Ana — Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Study coordinator: Fernandez-Sesma, Ana
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.