Dengue virus-like particles mimic the antigenic properties of the infectious dengue virus envelope

Background The 4 dengue serotypes (DENV) are mosquito-borne pathogens that are associated with severe hemorrhagic disease. DENV particles have a lipid bilayer envelope that anchors two membrane glycoproteins prM and E. Two E-protein monomers form head-to-tail homodimers and three E-dimers align to form “rafts” that cover the viral surface. Some human antibodies that strongly neutralize DENV bind to quaternary structure epitopes displayed on E protein dimers or higher order structures forming the infectious virus. Expression of prM and E in cell culture leads to the formation of DENV virus-like particles (VLPs) which are smaller than wildtype virus particles and replication defective due to the absence of a viral genome. There is no data available that describes the antigenic landscape on the surface of flavivirus VLPs in comparison to the better studied infectious virion.