Heidi van der Ende-Metselaar

Dissecting the cell entry pathway of dengue virus by single-particle tracking in living cells.

Dengue virus (DENV) is an enveloped RNA virus that causes the most common arthropod-borne infection worldwide. The mechanism by which DENV infects the host cell remains unclear. In this work, we used live-cell imaging and single-virus tracking to investigate the cell entry, endocytic trafficking, and fusion behavior of DENV. Simultaneous tracking of DENV particles and various endocytic markers revealed that DENV enters cells exclusively via clathrin-mediated endocytosis. The virus particles move along the cell surface in a diffusive manner before being captured by a pre-existing clathrin-coated pit. Upon clathrin-mediated entry, DENV particles are transported to Rab5-positive endosomes, which subsequently mature into late endosomes through acquisition of Rab7 and loss of Rab5. Fusion of the viral membrane with the endosomal membrane was primarily detected in late endosomal compartments.

Characterization of the Early Events in Dengue Virus Cell Entry by Biochemical Assays and Single-Virus Tracking

ABSTRACT In this study, we investigated the cell entry characteristics of dengue virus (DENV) type 2 strain S1 on mosquito, BHK-15, and BS-C-1 cells. The concentration of virus particles measured by biochemical assays was found to be substantially higher than the number of infectious particles determined by infectivity assays, leading to an infectious unit-to-particle ratio of approximately 1:2,600 to 1:72,000, depending on the specific assays used. In order to explain this high ratio, we investigated the receptor binding and membrane fusion characteristics of single DENV particles in living cells using real-time fluorescence microscopy. For this purpose, DENV was labeled with the lipophilic fluorescent probe DiD (1,1′-dioctadecyl-3,3,3′,3′-tetramethylindodicarbocyanine, 4-chlorobenzenesulfonate salt). The surface density of the DiD dye in the viral membrane was sufficiently high to largely quench the fluorescence intensity but still allowed clear detection of single virus particles. Fusion of the viral membrane with the cell membrane was evident as fluorescence dequenching. It was observed that DENV binds very inefficiently to the cells used, explaining at least in part the high infectious unit-to-particle ratio. The particles that did bind to the cells showed different types of transport behavior leading to membrane fusion in both the periphery and perinuclear regions of the cell. Membrane fusion was observed in 1 out of 6 bound virus particles, indicating that a substantial fraction of the virus has the capacity to fuse. DiD dequenching was completely inhibited by ammonium chloride, demonstrating that fusion occurs exclusively from within acidic endosomes.

Immature dengue virus: a veiled pathogen?

Cells infected with dengue virus release a high proportion of immature prM-containing virions. In accordance, substantial levels of prM antibodies are found in sera of infected humans. Furthermore, it has been recently described that the rates of prM antibody responses are significantly higher in patients with secondary infection compared to those with primary infection. This suggests that immature dengue virus may play a role in disease pathogenesis. Interestingly, however, numerous functional studies have revealed that immature particles lack the ability to infect cells. In this report, we show that fully immature dengue particles become highly infectious upon interaction with prM antibodies. We demonstrate that prM antibodies facilitate efficient binding and cell entry of immature particles into Fc-receptor-expressing cells. In addition, enzymatic activity of furin is critical to render the internalized immature virus infectious. Together, these data suggest that during a secondary infection or primary infection of infants born to dengue-immune mothers, immature particles have the potential to be highly infectious and hence may contribute to the development of severe disease.

Functional importance of dengue virus maturation : infectious properties of immature virions

Prior to the release of flavivirus particles from infected cells, the viral surface protein prM is cleaved to M by the cellular enzyme furin. For dengue virus (DENV), this maturation process appears to be very inefficient since a high proportion of progeny virions contain uncleaved prM. Furthermore, it has been reported that prM-containing DENV particles are infectious. These observations contradict the general assumption that prM processing is required to render virus particles infectious. Therefore, in this study, we reinvestigated the infectious properties of immature DENV virions. DENV particles were produced in furin-deficient LoVo cells. We observed that DENV-infected LoVo cells secrete high numbers of prM-containing particles. Subsequent analysis of the infectious titre revealed that immature particles lack the ability to infect cells, the infectious unit to particle ratio being 10 000-fold reduced compared with that of wild-type virus. Our results indicate that cleavage of prM to M is required for DENV infectivity.

Antibodies against the Envelope Glycoprotein Promote Infectivity of Immature Dengue Virus Serotype 2

Cross-reactive dengue virus (DENV) antibodies directed against the envelope (E) and precursor membrane (prM) proteins are believed to contribute to the development of severe dengue disease by facilitating antibody-dependent enhancement of infection. We and others recently demonstrated that anti-prM antibodies render essentially non-infectious immature DENV infectious in Fcγ-receptor-expressing cells. Immature DENV particles are abundantly present in standard (st) virus preparations due to inefficient processing of prM to M during virus maturation. Structural analysis has revealed that the E protein is exposed in immature particles and this prompted us to investigate whether antibodies to E render immature particles infectious. To this end, we analyzed the enhancing properties of 27 anti-E antibodies directed against distinct structural domains. Of these, 23 bound to immature particles, and 15 enhanced infectivity of immature DENV in a furin-dependent manner. The significance of these findings was subsequently tested in vivo using the well-established West Nile virus (WNV) mouse model. Remarkably, mice injected with immature WNV opsonized with anti-E mAbs or immune serum produced a lethal infection in a dose-dependent manner, whereas in the absence of antibody immature WNV virions caused no morbidity or mortality. Furthermore, enhancement infection studies with standard (st) DENV preparations opsonized with anti-E mAbs in the presence or absence of furin inhibitor revealed that prM-containing particles present within st virus preparations contribute to antibody-dependent enhancement of infection. Taken together, our results support the notion that antibodies against the structural proteins prM and E both can promote pathogenesis by enhancing infectivity of prM-containing immature and partially mature flavivirus particles.

A Fusion-Loop Antibody Enhances the Infectious Properties of Immature Flavivirus Particles

ABSTRACT Flavivirus-infected cells secrete a mixture of mature, partially immature, and fully immature particles into the extracellular space. Although mature virions are highly infectious, prM-containing fully immature virions are noninfectious largely because the prM protein inhibits the cell attachment and fusogenic properties of the virus. If, however, cell attachment and entry are facilitated by anti-prM antibodies, immature flavivirus becomes infectious after efficient processing of the prM protein by the endosomal protease furin. A recent study demonstrated that E53, a cross-reactive monoclonal antibody (MAb) that engages the highly conserved fusion-loop peptide within the flavivirus envelope glycoprotein, preferentially binds to immature flavivirus particles. We investigated here the infectious potential of fully immature West Nile virus (WNV) and dengue virus (DENV) particles opsonized with E53 MAb and observed that, like anti-prM antibodies, this anti-E antibody also has the capacity to render fully immature flaviviruses infectious. E53-mediated enhancement of both immature WNV and DENV depended on efficient cell entry and the enzymatic activity of the endosomal furin. Furthermore, we also observed that E53-opsonized immature DENV particles but not WNV particles required a more acidic pH for efficient cleavage of prM by furin, adding greater complexity to the dynamics of antibody-mediated infection of immature flavivirus virions.

Mechanism and role of MCP-1 upregulation upon chikungunya virus infection in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2)-mediated migration of monocytes is essential for immunological surveillance of tissues. During chikungunya virus (CHIKV) infection however, excessive production of MCP-1 has been linked to disease pathogenesis. High MCP-1 serum levels are detected during the viremic phase of CHIKV infection and correlate with the virus titre. In vitro CHIKV infection was also shown to stimulate MCP-1 production in whole blood; yet the role and the mechanism of MCP-1 production upon infection of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells remain unknown. Here we found that active CHIKV infection stimulated production of MCP-1 in monocytes. Importantly however, we found that communication with other leukocytes is crucial to yield MCP-1 by monocytes upon CHIKV infection. Indeed, blocking interferon-α/β receptor or the JAK1/JAK2 signalling downstream of the receptor abolished CHIKV-mediated MCP-1 production. Additionally, we show that despite the apparent correlation between IFN type I, CHIKV replication and MCP-1, modulating the levels of the chemokine did not influence CHIKV infection. In summary, our data disclose the complexity of MCP-1 regulation upon CHIKV infection and point to a crucial role of IFNβ in the chemokine secretion. We propose that balance between these soluble factors is imperative for an appropriate host response to CHIKV infection.

Dengue tropism for macrophages and dendritic cells: the host cell effect

Dengue virus infects immune cells, including monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells (DC). We compared virus infectivity in macrophages and DC, and found that the virus origin determined the cell tropism of progeny virus. The highest efficiency of re-infection was seen for macrophage-derived dengue virus. Furthermore, in the presence of enhancing antibodies, macrophage-derived virus gave greater enhancement of infection compared with immature DC-derived virus. Taken together, our results highlight the importance of macrophages in dengue infection.

Suppression of chikungunya virus replication and differential innate responses of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells during co-infection with dengue virus

Dengue and chikungunya are viral diseases transmitted to humans by infected Aedes spp. mosquitoes. With an estimated 390 million infected people per year dengue virus (DENV) currently causes the most prevalent arboviral disease. During the last decade chikungunya virus (CHIKV) has caused large outbreaks and has expanded its territory causing millions of cases in Asia, Africa and America. The viruses share a common mosquito vector and during the acute phase cause similar flu-like symptoms that can proceed to more severe or debilitating symptoms. The growing overlap in the geographical distribution of these mosquito-borne infections has led to an upsurge in reported cases of DENV/CHIKV co-infections. Unfortunately, at present we have little understanding of consequences of the co-infections to the human host. The overall aim of this study was to define viral replication dynamics and the innate immune signature involved in concurrent DENV and CHIKV infections in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We demonstrate that concomitant infection resulted in a significant reduction of CHIKV progeny and moderate enhancement of DENV production. Remarkably, the inhibitory effect of DENV on CHIKV infection occurred independently of DENV replication. Furthermore, changes in type I IFN, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, MCP-1 and IP-10 production were observed during concomitant infections. Notably, co-infections led to a significant increase in the levels of TNF-α and IL-6, cytokines that are widely considered to play a crucial role in the early pathogenesis of both viral diseases. In conclusion, our study reveals the interplay of DENV/CHIKV during concomitant infection and provides a framework to investigate viral interaction during co-infections.

Altered immune response of immature dendritic cells following dengue virus infection in the presence of specific antibodies.

Dengue virus (DENV) replication is known to prevent maturation of infected dendritic cells (DCs) thereby impeding the development of adequate immunity. During secondary DENV infection, dengue-specific antibodies can suppress DENV replication in immature DCs (immDCs), however how dengue-antibody complexes (DENV-IC) influence the phenotype of DCs remains elusive. Here, we evaluated the maturation state and cytokine profile of immDCs exposed to DENV-ICs. Indeed, DENV infection of immDCs in the absence of antibodies was hallmarked by blunted upregulation of CD83, CD86 and the major histocompatibility complex molecule HLA-DR. In contrast, DENV infection in the presence of neutralizing antibodies triggered full DC maturation and induced a balanced inflammatory cytokine response. Moreover, DENV infection under non-neutralizing conditions prompted upregulation of CD83 and CD86 but not HLA-DR, and triggered production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The effect of DENV-IC was found to be dependent on the engagement of FcγRIIa. Altogether, our data show that the presence of DENV-IC alters the phenotype and cytokine profile of DCs.