{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,29]],"date-time":"2026-09-29T21:52:02Z","timestamp":1790718722515,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,31]],"date-time":"2021-05-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1622419200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Powassan virus (POWV) is a tick-borne flavivirus circulating in North America and the Russian Far East that can cause severe neuroinvasive diseases, including encephalitis, meningitis, and meningoencephalitis. The reported neuroinvasive case fatality is about 10%, and approximately 50% of the survivors from the neuroinfection exhibit long-lasting or permanent neurological sequelae. Currently, treatment of POWV infection is supportive, and no FDA-approved vaccines or specific therapeutics are available. A novel Powassan vaccine candidate was created using virus-like particle technology (POW-VLP) and assembled with the viral structural proteins pre-Membrane (prM) and Envelope (E). Western blot immunoassay demonstrated high antigenicity of POW-VLP structural proteins. Transmission electron microscopy indicated that the POW-VLP exhibited icosahedral morphology typical of flaviviruses. A dose-escalation study in a murine model was performed to test immunogenicity and safety. Serum antibody was tested by ELISA, demonstrating that POW-VLP afforded 100% seroconversion to the E protein. Reporter viral-particle neutralization assay demonstrated high levels of neutralizing antibodies in the serum of immunized mice. Hybridomas expressing monoclonal antibodies were produced following POW-VLP immunization. The POW-VLP vaccine candidate created in this study provides a strategy for inducing protective antibodies against Powassan neuroinvasive infection.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens10060680","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,31]],"date-time":"2021-05-31T05:53:38Z","timestamp":1622440418000},"page":"680","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":14,"title":["A Virus-Like Particle-Based Vaccine Candidate against the Tick-Borne Powassan Virus Induces Neutralizing Antibodies in a Mouse Model"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7489-3145","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Velasco","family":"Cimica","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"American Type Culture Collection (ATCC\u00ae), ATCC Federal Solutions, 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, VA 20110, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sahar","family":"Saleem","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"American Type Culture Collection (ATCC\u00ae), ATCC Federal Solutions, 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, VA 20110, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emily","family":"Matuczinski","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"American Type Culture Collection (ATCC\u00ae), ATCC Federal Solutions, 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, VA 20110, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Debra","family":"Adams-Fish","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"American Type Culture Collection (ATCC\u00ae), ATCC Federal Solutions, 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, VA 20110, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Conor","family":"McMahon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"American Type Culture Collection (ATCC\u00ae), ATCC Federal Solutions, 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, VA 20110, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sujatha","family":"Rashid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"American Type Culture Collection (ATCC\u00ae), ATCC Federal Solutions, 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, VA 20110, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5847-7931","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Timothy","family":"Stedman","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"American Type Culture Collection (ATCC\u00ae), ATCC Federal Solutions, 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, VA 20110, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","first-page":"708","article-title":"Powassan virus: Isolation of virus from a fatal case of encephalitis","volume":"80","author":"Mc","year":"1959","journal-title":"Can. 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