Immunologic Control of Zika Virus in Rhesus Monkeys

Zika virus (ZIKV) is responsible for a major current outbreak in the Americas and has been causally associated with fetal microcephaly as well as Guillain-Barre syndrome in adults. However, the immune responses associated with controlling ZIKV replication remain poorly characterized. Here we report a detailed analysis of innate and adaptive immune responses following ZIKV infection in 16 rhesus monkeys. A robust proinflammatory innate immune response was observed within the first few days of infection, including upregulation of type 1 interferon, which correlated directly with viral loads. Immunomodulatory pathways, including IL-10 and TGF-, were also upregulated. ZIKV-specific neutralizing antibodies emerged rapidly by day 7 and correlated inversely with viral loads, which were undetectable in peripheral blood by day 6-10. In contrast, virus replication persisted in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) for at least 21-42 days in 75% (3 of 4) of the monkeys that received the lowest dose of ZIKV tested, and ZIKV-specific antibodies were essentially undetectable in CSF. These data suggest that antibodies play a critical role in the rapid control of acute viremia in the periphery but were largely excluded from the central nervous system, allowing viral persistence at this immuonoprivileged site.

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Aid M, Abbink P, Larocca RA, Boyd M, Nityanandam R, Nanayakkara O, Martinot AJ, Moseley ET, Blass E, Borducchi EN, Chandrashekar A, Brinkman AL, Molloy K, Jetton D, Tartaglia LJ, Liu J, Best K, Perelson AS, De La Barrera RA, Lewis MG, Barouch DH