{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T20:38:01Z","timestamp":1792701481385,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,10]],"date-time":"2021-12-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1639094400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Vaccines"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Zika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, has recently triggered global concern due to severe health complications. In 2015, a large ZIKV outbreak occurred in the Americas and established a link between ZIKV and microcephaly in newborn babies, spontaneous abortion, persistent viremia, and Guillain\u2013Barr\u00e9 syndrome. While antivirals are being developed and prevention strategies focus on vector control, a safe and effective Zika vaccine remains unavailable. Messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine technology has arisen as a flexible, simplified, and fast vaccine production platform. Here, we report on an mRNA vaccine candidate that encodes the pre-membrane and envelope (prM\u2013E) glycoproteins of ZIKV strain Brazil SPH2015 and is encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). Our ZIKV prM\u2013E mRNA-LNP vaccine candidate induced antibody responses that protected in AG129 mice deficient in interferon (IFN) alpha\/beta\/gamma (IFN-\u03b1\/\u03b2\/\u03b3) receptors. Notably, a single administration of ZIKV prM\u2013E mRNA-LNP protected against a lethal dose of ZIKV, while a two-dose strategy induced strong protective immunity. E-specific double-positive IFN-\u03b3 and TNF-\u03b1 T-cells were induced in BALB\/c mice after immunizations with a two-dose strategy. With the success of mRNA vaccine technology in facing the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, our data support the development of prM\u2013E RNActive\u00ae as a promising mRNA vaccine against Zika to counter future epidemics.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/vaccines9121464","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,13]],"date-time":"2021-12-13T01:29:33Z","timestamp":1639358973000},"page":"1464","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":50,"title":["mRNA Vaccine Protects against Zika Virus"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4242-6945","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lex G.","family":"Medina-Mag\u00fces","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Janina","family":"Gergen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CureVac AG, Friedrich-Miescher-Stra\u00dfe 15, 72076 T\u00fcbingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Edith","family":"Jasny","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CureVac AG, Friedrich-Miescher-Stra\u00dfe 15, 72076 T\u00fcbingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Benjamin","family":"Petsch","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CureVac AG, Friedrich-Miescher-Stra\u00dfe 15, 72076 T\u00fcbingen, Germany"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2215-8426","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jaime","family":"Lopera-Madrid","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8666-0485","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Emily S.","family":"Medina-Mag\u00fces","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Cristhian","family":"Salas-Quinchucua","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7474-6150","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jorge E.","family":"Osorio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathobiological Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"223","DOI":"10.4049\/jimmunol.69.2.223","article-title":"Neutralizing Antibodies against Certain Recently Isolated Viruses in the Sera of Human Beings Residing in East Africa","volume":"69","author":"Smithburn","year":"1952","journal-title":"J. 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