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. 2017 Mar 1;215(5):781-785.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiw638.

Dengue Virus-Specific Antibodies Enhance Brazilian Zika Virus Infection

Priscila M S Castanha  1   2 , Eduardo J M Nascimento  3   4 , Cynthia Braga  1   5 , Marli T Cordeiro  1 , Otávio V de Carvalho  1   6 , Leila R de Mendonça  1 , Elisa A N Azevedo  1 , Rafael F O França  1 , Rafael Dhalia  1 , Ernesto T A Marques  1   3   4
Affiliations

Dengue Virus-Specific Antibodies Enhance Brazilian Zika Virus Infection

Priscila M S Castanha et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Anti-Flavivirus antibodies are highly cross-reactive and may facilitate Zika virus (ZIKV) infection through the antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) mechanism. We demonstrate that dengue-specific antibodies enhance the infection of a primary Brazilian ZIKV isolate in a FcγRII-expressing K562 cell line. In addition, we demonstrate that serum samples from dengue-immune pregnant women enhanced ZIKV infection. These findings highlight the need for epidemiological studies and animal models to further confirm the role of ADE in the development of congenital and neurological complications associated with ZIKV infections.

Keywords: Zika virus; antibody dependent enhancement; dengue antibodies.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection by dengue-specific antibodies. FcγRII-expressing K562 cells were infected with ZIKV PE/243 in the absence of antibodies or in the presence of either a Flavivirus-naive serum or a dengue virus (DENV)–3 immune serum. Antibody-dependent enhancement was measured as the n-fold increase in the percentage of virus-infected cells relative to that in a Flavivirus-naive serum. A, Percentage of DENV- and ZIKV-infected K562 cells in absence or in presence of serum. B, Antibody-dependent enhancement of ZIKV in K562 cells.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection by dengue antibodies. A, Longitudinal serum samples from dengue-infected patients were used to determine the kinetics of ADE of ZIKV infection after dengue exposure in individuals experiencing a primary (dotted lines) or secondary (solid lines) dengue infection. Antibody-dependent enhancement of dengue virus (DENV) (B) and ZIKV (C) was tested in the presence of a panel of serum samples from pregnant women with different dengue immune status, as determined by plaque reduction neutralization test: monotypic (DENV-3) (n = 10) and multitypic (DENV-3 and DENV-4) (n = 10). C, The n-fold increase in the ZIKV RNA quantification in the presence of monotypic or multitypic dengue immune serum relative to that in a Flavivirus-naive serum. Abbreviations: ADE, Antibody-dependent enhancement; DENV, dengue virus; ZIKV, Zika virus, vRNA, virus ribonucleic acid.
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