Modified mRNA Vaccines Protect against Zika Virus Infection

The emergence of ZIKV infection has prompted a global effort to develop safe and effective vaccines. We engineered a lipid nanoparticle (LNP) encapsulated modified mRNA vaccine encoding wild-type or variant ZIKV structural genes and tested immunogenicity and protection in mice. Two doses of modified mRNA LNPs encoding prM-E genes that produced virus-like particles resulted in high neutralizing antibody titers (similar to 1/100,000) that protected against ZIKV infection and conferred sterilizing immunity. To offset a theoretical concern of ZIKV vaccines inducing antibodies that cross-react with the related dengue virus (DENV), we designed modified prM-E RNA encoding mutations destroying the conserved fusion-loop epitope in the E protein. This variant protected against ZIKV and diminished production of antibodies enhancing DENV infection in cells or mice. A modified mRNA vaccine can prevent ZIKV disease and be adapted to reduce the risk of sensitizing individuals to subsequent exposure to DENV, should this become a clinically relevant concern.