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Abstract

Immunology and Infection

Evaluation of Zika Virus-specific T-cell Responses in Immunoprivileged Organs of Infected Ifnar1-/- Mice

Published: October 17th, 2018

DOI:

10.3791/58110

1School of Laboratory Medicine and Life Sciences, Wenzhou Medical University, 2NHC Key Laboratory of Medical Virology and Viral Diseases, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 3State Key Laboratory of Agrobiotechnology, College of Biological Sciences, China Agricultural University, 4Research Network of Immunity and Health (RNIH), Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 5Laboratory Animal Center, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 6CAS Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbiology and Immunology, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

* These authors contributed equally

Abstract

The Zika virus (ZIKV) can induce inflammation in immunoprivileged organs (e.g., the brain and testis), leading to the Guillain-Barré syndrome and damaging the testes. During an infection with the ZIKV, immune cells have been shown to infiltrate into the tissues. However, the cellular mechanisms that define the protection and/or immunopathogenesis of these immune cells during a ZIKV infection are still largely unknown. Herein, we describe methods to evaluate the virus-specific T-cell functionality in these immunoprivileged organs of ZIKV-infected mice. These methods include a) a ZIKV infection and vaccine inoculation in Ifnar1-/- mice; b) histopathology, immunofluorescence, and immunohistochemistry assays to detect the virus infection and inflammation in the brain, testes, and spleen; c) the preparation of a tetramer of ZIKV-derived T-cell epitopes; d) the detection of ZIKV-specific T cells in the monocytes isolated from the brain, testes, and spleen. Using these approaches, it is possible to detect the antigen-specific T cells that have infiltrated into the immunoprivileged organs and to evaluate the functions of these T cells during the infection: potential immune protection via virus clearance and/or immunopathogenesis to exacerbate the inflammation. These findings may also help to clarify the contribution of T cells induced by the immunization against ZIKV.

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Keywords Zika Virus

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