Comparative Evaluation of Three Chimeric Zika Vaccine Candidates Engineered on the Genetic Backbone of the Live-Attenuated Japanese Encephalitis Virus Vaccine SA₁₄-14-2

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a medically important mosquito-borne orthoflavivirus, but no vaccines are currently available to prevent ZIKV-associated disease. In this study, we compared three recombinant chimeric viruses developed as candidate vaccine prototypes (rJEV/ZIKV^MR-766, rJEV/ZIKV^P6-740, and rJEV/ZIKV^PRVABC-59), in which the two neutralizing antibody-inducing prM and E genes from each of three genetically distinct ZIKV strains were used to replace the corresponding genes of the clinically proven live-attenuated Japanese encephalitis virus vaccine SA₁₄-14-2 (rJEV). In WHO-certified Vero cells, rJEV/ZIKV^P6-740 exhibited the slowest viral growth, formed the smallest plaques, and displayed a unique protein expression profile with the highest ratio of prM to cleaved M, when compared to the other two chimeric viruses, rJEV/ZIKV^MR-766 and rJEV/ZIKV^PRVABC-59, as well as their vector, rJEV. In IFNAR^–/– mice, subcutaneous inoculation of rJEV/ZIKV^P6-740 caused a low-level localized infection limited to the spleen, with no clinical signs of infection, weight loss, or mortality; in contrast, the other two chimeric viruses and their vector caused high-level systemic infections involving multiple organs, consistently leading to clear clinical signs of infection, rapid weight loss, and 100% mortality. Subsequently, subcutaneous immunization with rJEV/ZIKV^P6-740 proved highly effective, offering complete protection against a lethal intramuscular ZIKV challenge 28 days after a single-dose immunization. This protection was specific to ZIKV prM/E and likely mediated by neutralizing antibodies targeting ZIKV prM/E. Therefore, our data indicate that the chimeric virus rJEV/ZIKV^P6-740 is a highly promising vaccine prototype for developing a safe and effective vaccine to induce neutralizing antibody-mediated protective immunity against ZIKV.