Strong CD4 T cell responses to Zika virus antigens in a cohort of Dengue virus immune mothers of congenital Zika virus syndrome infants
Author(s)
Reynolds, Catherine J
Watber, Patricia
Santos, Camilla Natália Oliveira
Ribeiro, Danielle Rodrigues
Alves, Juliana Cardoso
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Background: There is an urgent need to understand the complex relationship between cross-reactive anti-viral immunity, disease susceptibility, and severity in the face of differential exposure to related, circulating Flaviviruses. Co-exposure to Dengue virus and Zika virus in Brazil is a case in point. A devastating aspect of the 2015-2016 South American Zika outbreak was the dramatic increase in numbers of infants born with microcephaly to mothers exposed to Zika virus during pregnancy. It has been proposed that this is more likely to ensue from Zika infection in women lacking cross-protective Dengue immunity. In this case series we measure the prevalence of Dengue immunity in a cohort of mothers exposed to Zika virus during pregnancy in the 2015-2016 Zika outbreak that gave birth to an infant affected by microcephaly and explore their adaptive immunity to Zika virus. Results: Fifty women from Sergipe, Brazil who gave birth to infants with microcephaly following Zika virus exposure during the 2015-16 outbreak were tested for serological evidence of Dengue exposure and IFNγ ELISpot spot forming cell (SFC) response to Zika virus. The majority (46/50) demonstrated Dengue immunity. IFNγ ELISpot responses to Zika virus antigens showed the following hierarchy: Env>NS1>NS3>C protein. Twenty T cell epitopes from Zika virus Env were identified. Responses to Zika virus antigens Env and NS1 were polyfunctional with cells making IFNγ, TNFα, IL-4, IL-13, and IL-10. In contrast, responses to NS5 only produced the immune regulatory TGFβ1 cytokine. There were SFC responses against Zika virus Env (1-20) and variant peptide sequences from West Nile virus, Dengue virus 1-4 and Yellow Fever virus. Conclusion: Almost all the women in our study showed serological evidence of Dengue immunity, suggesting that microcephaly can occur in DENV immune mothers. T cell immunity to Zika virus showed a multifunctional response to the antigens Env and NS1 and immune regulatory responses to NS5 and C protein. Our data support an argument that different viral products may skew the antiviral response to a more pro or anti-inflammatory outcome, with an associated impact on immunopathogenesis.
Date Issued
2020-02-18
Date Acceptance
2020-01-23
Citation
Frontiers in Immunology, 2020, 11
ISSN
1664-3224
Publisher
Frontiers Media
Journal / Book Title
Frontiers in Immunology
Volume
11
Copyright Statement
© 2020 Reynolds, Watber, Santos, Ribeiro, Alves, Fonseca, Bispo, Porto, Bokea, de Jesus, de Almeida, Boyton and Altmann. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Sponsor
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Medical Research Council
National Institutes of Health
Innovate UK
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32132999
Grant Number
MC_PC_15106
MC_PC_15106
BPO: 20151; UWSC9568
87242-544164
Subjects
T cell epitope
adaptive immunity
cross-reactivity
dengue virus
flavivirus
microcephaly
zika virus
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
Switzerland
Article Number
ARTN 185