Theory behind severe dengue virus infection and antibodies – confirmed

Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF), otherwise known as breakbone fever is an acute febrile illness which is transmitted to humans by mosquito bites from the Aedes aegypti species of mosquito.  This disease is considered life-threatening especially when the infection leads into its severest form, the dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome that causes blood vessels to leak leading to shock.  Despite the widening knowledge about dengue hemorrhagic type of infection, the theory behind the cause of this severe form of infection remains to be conceptualized.  Over the decades, several scientists attempted to support the hypothesis linking antibodies to the severe form of dengue virus.  In Washington, February 12, 2010, good news about dengue was received from La Jolla Institute scientists who proved the hypothesis regarding the contributory role of antibodies towards the severity of dengue virus-induced disease. The confirmed findings of the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology may pave its way towards developing the first vaccine against severe dengue disorder.

According to the La Jolla Institute scientist Sujan Shresta, they have proven the old hypothesis that subneutralizing levels of dengue virus antibodies actually exacerbate the disease.  She pointed out how this is the situation where antibodies can be bad for someone.  This may be contrary to what we normally know about antibodies but it may provide a challenge for researchers to develop a first dengue virus vaccine.

It was in the 1970s when Scott Halstead, a renowned scientist and one of the world’s top experts on dengue virus infection, discovered the dengue virus antibody phenomenon likewise coined as antibody-dependent enhancement of infection (ADE).  During his clinical studies of dengue virus among patients in Thailand in the 1960s, he was able to detect that all severe patients had a secondary antibody response or they had been previously infected.

Shresta’s group used the mouse model for their study and they discovered that a type of liver cells, called liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSCEs), supported the ADE of dengue infection.  Dr. Shresta and her team emphasize the importance of extreme caution in creating a dengue virus vaccine and should ensure that the vaccine would not generate a more severe and lethal form of disease.  Moreover, Dr. Halstead mentioned that the vaccine should be addressed to each four dengue viruses.  Dr. Shresta emphasized the difficulty of making four vaccines in one which addresses the four different serotypes of dengue infection.  Infection with one specific serotype provides lifelong immunity only to that one serotype.  If another infection from a different serotype occurs, the antibodies do not recognize this virus and cannot counteract it.

According to WHO, 2.5 billion people are now at risk for dengue and also it was estimated that there may be 50 million cases of dengue infection worldwide every year.  In a nutshell, dengue is currently endemic to several countries worldwide.  The increasing risk and spread of dengue infection plus the lethal nature of its severe form such as dengue shock syndrome poses great danger among people worldwide.  But the recent confirmed hypothesis linking antibodies towards the severity of dengue infection is a medical breakthrough opening doors towards a possible dengue vaccine in the future.  Although there are more studies to design a more concrete vaccine, it is still quite assuring how a severe dengue infection may actually have a means of prevention in the near future.

REFERENCES:

http://www.topnews.in/health/hypothesis-mystery-dengue-virus-infection-confirmed-26214

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dengue_fever

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