Pathogenesis of Dengue Vaccine Viruses in Mosquitoes

摘要

Techniques were developed and/or improved for the study of dengue viruses in their mosquito vectors. Improved techniques for infection of mosquitoes with dengue viruses, for in vitro assay of transmission, and for titration of infected mosquitoes were developed. The titration technique, using microtiter plates and indirect fluorescence, proved to be a fast, reliable, and inexpensive technique for titration of dengue viruses in mosquitoes. Studies were also conducted to determine the extent and phlogenetic range of interference to superinfection in Aedes albopictus mosquitoes previously infected with selected dengue viruses. Studies were conducted tto compare the efficiency of oral infection, of replication, and of oral transmission of dengue parent and derived candidate vaccine viruses in potential vector mosquitoes. Candidate vaccine viruses were also monitored for phenotypic stability to ensure that they did not revert to virulence as a consequence of passage in the mosquitoes. None tested reverted to parental phenotype in these studies. (Keywords: Aedes aegypti; Viral replication; Vector transmission; and Vector competence).