Development of serotype-specific Dengue virus detection Assay

This project focuses on developing serotype-specific diagnostic assays for dengue virus (DENV), which exists in four co-circulating serotypes worldwide. Using an innovative immunization strategy with live HEK 293 cells expressing native NS1 proteins, Prof. Dr. Katharina Röltgen generated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that specifically recognize conformational epitopes of each serotype. Optimized combinations of these mAbs were used to create highly sensitive and specific NS1 serotyping ELISAs, which demonstrated 100% concordance with PCR-based serotyping when testing patient samples. In collaboration with Prof. Dr. Dominik Meinel at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW) in Muttenz (BL), the ELISA-based antigen capture assays are being adapted into lateral flow assay (LFA) formats. These portable, rapid tests will enable point-of-care dengue serotyping to strengthen epidemiological surveillance and support studies on antibody-dependent enhancement and risk assessment for severe dengue disease.