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Hall DR, Johnson RM, Kwon H, Ferdous Z, Laredo-Tiscareño SV, Blitvich BJ, Brackney DE, Smith RC. Mosquito immune cells enhance dengue and Zika virus dissemination in Aedes aegypti. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.03.587950. [PMID: 38617257 PMCID: PMC11014501 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.03.587950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/16/2024]
Abstract
Mosquito-borne viruses cause more than 400 million annual infections and place over half of the world's population at risk. Despite this importance, the mechanisms by which arboviruses infect the mosquito host and disseminate to tissues required for transmission are not well understood. Here, we provide evidence that mosquito immune cells, known as hemocytes, play an integral role in the dissemination of dengue virus (DENV) and Zika virus (ZIKV) in the mosquito Aedes aegypti. We establish that phagocytic hemocytes are a focal point for virus infection and demonstrate that these immune cell populations facilitate virus dissemination to the ovaries and salivary glands. Additional transfer experiments confirm that virus-infected hemocytes confer a virus infection to non-infected mosquitoes more efficiently than free virus in acellular hemolymph, revealing that hemocytes are an important tropism to enhance virus dissemination in the mosquito host. These data support a "trojan horse" model of virus dissemination where infected hemocytes transport virus through the hemolymph to deliver virus to mosquito tissues required for transmission and parallels vertebrate systems where immune cell populations promote virus dissemination to secondary sites of infection. In summary, this study significantly advances our understanding of virus infection dynamics in mosquitoes and highlights conserved roles of immune cells in virus dissemination across vertebrate and invertebrate systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- David R. Hall
- Interdepartmental Program in Genetics and Genomics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
- Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
| | - Rebecca M. Johnson
- Center for Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Hyeogsun Kwon
- Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
| | - Zannatul Ferdous
- Center for Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut
| | | | - Bradley J. Blitvich
- Department of Veterinary Microbiology and Preventative Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
| | - Doug E. Brackney
- Center for Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, Department of Entomology, The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Ryan C. Smith
- Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa
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Cowell E, Jaber H, Kris LP, Fitzgerald MG, Sanders VM, Norbury AJ, Eyre NS, Carr JM. Vav proteins do not influence dengue virus replication but are associated with induction of phospho-ERK, IL-6, and viperin mRNA following DENV infection in vitro. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0239123. [PMID: 38054722 PMCID: PMC10782993 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02391-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 11/03/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Dengue disease is characterized by an inflammatory-mediated immunopathology, with elevated levels of circulating factors including TNF-α and IL-6. If the damaging inflammatory pathways could be blocked without loss of antiviral responses or exacerbating viral replication, then this would be of potential therapeutic benefit. The study here has investigated the Vav guanine exchange factors as a potential alternative signaling pathway that may drive dengue virus (DENV)-induced inflammatory responses, with a focus on Vav1 and 2. While Vav proteins were positively associated with mRNA for inflammatory cytokines, blocking Vav signaling didn't affect DENV replication but prevented DENV-induction of p-ERK and enhanced IL-6 (inflammatory) and viperin (antiviral) mRNA. These initial data suggest that Vav proteins could be a target that does not compromise control of viral replication and should be investigated further for broader impact on host inflammatory responses, in settings such as antibody-dependent enhancement of infection and in different cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evangeline Cowell
- College of Medicine and Public Health and Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Hawraa Jaber
- College of Medicine and Public Health and Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Luke P. Kris
- College of Medicine and Public Health and Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Madeleine G. Fitzgerald
- College of Medicine and Public Health and Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Valeria M. Sanders
- College of Medicine and Public Health and Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Aidan J. Norbury
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Nicholas S. Eyre
- College of Medicine and Public Health and Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Jillian M. Carr
- College of Medicine and Public Health and Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, Bedford Park, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
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