Specificity, cross-reactivity, and function of antibodies elicited by Zika virus infection

Zika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus with homology to Dengue virus (DENV), has become a public health emergency. By characterizing memory lymphocytes from ZIKV-infected patients, we dissected ZIKV-specific and DENV-cross-reactive immune responses. Antibodies to nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) were largely ZIKV-specific and were used to develop a serological diagnostic tool. In contrast, antibodies against E protein domain I/II (EDI/II) were cross-reactive and, although poorly neutralizing, potently enhanced ZIKV and DENV infection in vitro and lethally enhanced DENV disease in mice. Memory T cells against NS1 or E proteins were poorly cross-reactive, even in donors preexposed to DENV. The most potent…

• EC
  European Commission

  Award: HEALTH-F3-2011-281803-Project IDAMS
• SN
  Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung

  Award: 160279
• HH
  Helmut Horten Stiftung
• NI
  National Institutes of Health

  Award: R01 AI24493
• HE
  H2020 European Research Council

  Award: 323183 PREDICT