All humans become infected with multiple herpesviruses during childhood. After clearance of acute infection, herpesviruses enter a dormant state known as latency. Latency persists for the life of the host and is presumed to be parasitic, as it leaves the individual at risk for subsequent viral reactivation and disease. Here we show that herpesvirus latency also confers a surprising benefit to the host. Mice latently infected with either murine gammaherpesvirus 68 or murine cytomegalovirus, which are genetically highly similar to the human pathogens Epstein-Barr virus and human cytomegalovirus, respectively, are resistant to infection with the bacterial pathogens Listeria monocytogenes and Yersinia pestis. Latency-induced protection is not antigen specific but involves prolonged production of the antiviral cytokine interferon-gamma and systemic activation of macrophages. Latency thereby upregulates the basal activation state of innate immunity against subsequent infections. We speculate that herpesvirus latency may also sculpt the immune response to self and environmental antigens through establishment of a polarized cytokine environment. Thus, whereas the immune evasion capabilities and lifelong persistence of herpesviruses are commonly viewed as solely pathogenic, our data suggest that latency is a symbiotic relationship with immune benefits for the host.

Neutralization of West Nile virus (WNV) in vivo correlates with the development of an antibody response against the viral envelope (E) protein. Using random mutagenesis and yeast surface display, we defined individual contact residues of 14 newly generated mAbs against domain III of the WNV E protein. MAbs that strongly neutralized WNV localized to a surface patch on the lateral face of domain III. Convalescent antibodies from human patients who had recovered from WNV infection also detected this epitope. One mAb, E16, neutralized 10 different strains in vitro, and demonstrated therapeutic efficacy in mice, even when administered as a single dose 5 d after infection. A humanized version of E16 was generated that retained antigen specificity, avidity, and neutralizing activity. In post-exposure therapeutic trials in mice, a single dose of humanized E16 protected mice against WNV-induced mortality, and thus, may be a viable treatment option against WNV infection in humans.WNV is a single-stranded, positive-polarity RNA Flavivirus that is related to dengue fever, yellow fever, and Saint Louis, tick-borne, and Japanese encephalitis viruses. Humans infected with WNV develop a febrile illness that can progress to meningitis or encephalitis, and the elderly and immunocompromised are at greatest risk for severe disease 1 . At present, treatment is supportive and no vaccine exists for human use.The innate and adaptive immune responses prevent dissemination to and within the central nervous system (CNS) 2,3 . Recently, two groups demonstrated therapeutic efficacy of immune human γ-globulin in mice infected with WNV 4,5 . Even after virus had spread to the CNS, passive administration of immune heterologous γ-globulin improved survival 5 . In theory, a potently neutralizing mAb could have the same or better benefit with a lower dose and improved safety profile.Most neutralizing antibodies against flaviviruses recognize the envelope (E) protein. In general, virus-specific rather than cross-reactive antibodies have the strongest neutralizing activity in NIH-PA Author ManuscriptNIH-PA Author Manuscript NIH-PA Author Manuscript vitro and greatest protection in vivo 6 . Crystallographic analysis of the soluble ectodomain of flavivirus E proteins has revealed three domains 7,8 . Domain I is an 8-stranded β-barrel 7-9 that participates in the conformational changes associated with the acidification in the endosome 10 . Domain II contains 12 β-strands and has roles in dimerization, trimerization, and fusion 7,8,10 . Domain III (DIII) adopts an immunoglobulin-like fold, and contains the loops that are most distal from the surface in the mature virion 11,12 and the site for putative receptor attachment 6,8,13,14 . Based on the sequencing of in vitro neutralization escape variants, many neutralizing antibodies against flaviviruses localize to DIII 15-22 .Here, we define further the molecular basis of antibody-mediated neutralization of WNV using a large panel of newly generated mAbs against WNV E protein. Humanized versions o...

West Nile virus (WNV) causes severe central nervous system (CNS) infection primarily in humans who are immunocompromised or elderly. In this study, we addressed the mechanism by which the immune system limits dissemination of WNV infection by infecting wild-type and immunodeficient inbred C57BL/6J mice with a low-passage WNV isolate from the recent epidemic in New York state. Wild-type mice replicated virus extraneuronally in the draining lymph nodes and spleen during the first 4 days of infection. Subsequently, virus spread to the spinal cord and the brain at virtually the same time. Congenic mice that were genetically deficient in B cells and antibody (MT mice) developed increased CNS viral burdens and were vulnerable to lethal infection at low doses of virus. Notably, a ϳ500-fold difference in serum viral load was detected in MT mice as early as 4 days after infection, a point in the infection when low levels of neutralizing immunoglobulin M antibody were detected in wild-type mice. Passive transfer of heat-inactivated serum from infected and immune wild-type mice protected MT mice against morbidity and mortality. We conclude that antibodies and B cells play a critical early role in the defense against disseminated infection by WNV.

The activation and entry of antigen-specific CD8؉ T cells into the central nervous system is an essential step towards clearance of West Nile virus (WNV) from infected neurons. The molecular signals responsible for the directed migration of virus-specific T cells and their cellular sources are presently unknown. Here we demonstrate that in response to WNV infection, neurons secrete the chemokine CXCL10, which recruits effector T cells via the chemokine receptor CXCR3. Neutralization or a genetic deficiency of CXCL10 leads to a decrease in CXCR3؉ CD8 ؉ T-cell trafficking, an increase in viral burden in the brain, and enhanced morbidity and mortality. These data support a new paradigm in chemokine neurobiology, as neurons are not generally considered to generate antiviral immune responses, and CXCL10 may represent a novel neuroprotective agent in response to WNV infection in the central nervous system.

West Nile virus (WNV), a positive-sense RNA virus and a member of the Flaviviridae family, recently became endemic in North America, with annual outbreaks of severe encephalitis occurring mostly in immunocompromised or elderly individuals. There is currently no vaccine approved for human use, and treatment is primarily supportive. The WNV genome encodes three structural proteins (C, prM/M, and E) and seven nonstructural proteins (NS1, NS2A, NS2B, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, and NS5). During the course of WNV infection, antibodies are raised against prM/M and E as well as NS1, NS3, and NS5, with a majority of the protective antibody response against the E protein (12, 63).The crystal structure of the ectodomain of the E protein has been determined for dengue virus (DENV), tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), and WNV (43,45,48,56,65). Flavivirus E proteins have three separate domains and form headto-tail homodimers on the surface of the virion. Domain I (DI) is the central structural domain and consists of a 10-stranded ␤-barrel. DII is formed from two extended loops that project from DI. At the end of DII is a highly conserved loop, amino acid residues 98 to 110, that has been implicated in the acidcatalyzed type II fusion event (1,7,44). In the E dimer, the fusion loop lies in a pocket at the DI-DIII interface of the adjacent E protein. DIII, located on the opposite side of DI, forms a seven-stranded immunoglobulin-like fold and has been implicated in receptor binding (5, 10, 14). Short, flexible linker regions connect the domains and allow for the conformational changes associated with virus maturation and fusion (65).The structure of the WNV virion has been defined by cryoelectron microscopy (36, 47). The mature WNV is ϳ500 Å in diameter and has a relatively smooth surface with no apparent spikes or large projections. The 180 E monomers lay flat along the virion surface as sets of three parallel dimers. The arrangement of the 180 E monomers has quasi-icosahedral symmetry such that there are three E monomers in the asymmetric unit and three distinct chemical environments available for antibody or ligand binding (47). The reduced pH in the endosome causes the E protein to convert from a homodimer to a homotrimer and exposes the fusion loop (44).Antibodies are critical for the control of flavivirus infection in vivo (4,17,18,20,23,50,59), and this protection has been correlated with neutralizing activity in vitro (32,53,58). However, there have been reports of strong and weak in vivo protection with nonneutralizing (6,11,29,31,34,58) and neutralizing (30, 32, 41) monoclonal antibodies (MAbs), respectively. Several recent studies suggest that specific epitopes elicit flavivirus-reactive MAbs with particular functional activities (3,37,38,50,57,60). Most type-specific neutralizing antibodies map to DIII of the E protein. Cross-reactive, neutralizing MAbs bind to regions outside DIII and have been mapped to

In humans, the elderly and immunocompromised are at greatest risk for disseminated West Nile virus (WNV) infection, yet the immunologic basis for this remains unclear. We demonstrated previously that B cells and IgG contributed to the defense against disseminated WNV infection (Diamond, M.S., B. Shrestha, A. Marri, D. Mahan, and M. Engle. 2003. J. Virol. 77:2578–2586). In this paper, we addressed the function of IgM in controlling WNV infection. C57BL/6J mice (sIgM−/−) that were deficient in the production of secreted IgM but capable of expressing surface IgM and secreting other immunoglobulin isotypes were vulnerable to lethal infection, even after inoculation with low doses of WNV. Within 96 h, markedly higher levels of infectious virus were detected in the serum of sIgM−/− mice compared with wild-type mice. The enhanced viremia correlated with higher WNV burdens in the central nervous system, and was also associated with a blunted anti-WNV IgG response. Passive transfer of polyclonal anti-WNV IgM or IgG protected sIgM−/− mice against mortality, although administration of comparable amounts of a nonneutralizing monoclonal anti-WNV IgM provided no protection. In a prospective analysis, a low titer of anti-WNV IgM antibodies at day 4 uniformly predicted mortality in wild-type mice. Thus, the induction of a specific, neutralizing IgM response early in the course of WNV infection limits viremia and dissemination into the central nervous system, and protects against lethal infection.

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The flavivirus nonstructural protein NS1 is a highly conserved secreted glycoprotein that does not package with the virion. Immunization with NS1 elicits a protective immune response against yellow fever, dengue, and tick-borne encephalitis flaviviruses through poorly defined mechanisms. In this study, we purified a recombinant, secreted form of West Nile virus (WNV) NS1 glycoprotein from baculovirus-infected insect cells and generated 22 new NS1-specific monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). By performing competitive binding assays and expressing truncated NS1 proteins on the surface of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and in bacteria, we mapped 21 of the newly generated MAbs to three NS1 fragments. Prophylaxis of C57BL/6 mice with any of four MAbs (10NS1, 14NS1, 16NS1, and 17NS1) strongly protected against lethal WNV infection (75 to 95% survival, respectively) compared to saline-treated controls (17% survival). In contrast, other anti-NS1 MAbs of the same isotype provided no significant protection. Notably, 14NS1 and 16NS1 also demonstrated marked efficacy as postexposure therapy, even when administered as a single dose 4 days after infection. Virologic analysis showed that 17NS1 protects at an early stage in infection through a C1q-independent and Fc ␥ receptor-dependent pathway. Interestingly, 14NS1, which maps to a distinct region on NS1, protected through a C1q-and Fc ␥ receptor-independent mechanism. Overall, our data suggest that distinct regions of NS1 can elicit protective humoral immunity against WNV through different mechanisms.West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded, positive-senseenveloped RNA virus that is maintained in nature through a mosquito-bird-mosquito transmission cycle. It is endemic in parts of Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, and outbreaks now occur annually in North America. Humans, which are dead-end hosts, can develop a febrile illness that progresses to a meningitis or encephalitis syndrome (32). At present, treatment is supportive, and no vaccine exists for human use.A member of the Flaviviridae family, WNV is closely related to other major human pathogens such as yellow fever (YF), dengue (DEN), tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), Japanese encephalitis (JEV), and Murray Valley encephalitis (MVE) viruses. The 10.7-kilobase genome is translated as a single polyprotein, which is then cleaved into three structural proteins (C, prM/M, and E) and seven nonstructural (NS) proteins (NS1, NS2A, NS2B, NS3, NS4A, NS4B, and NS5) by both virus-and host-encoded proteases (5). The NS proteins include an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (NS5), a helicase/protease (NS3), and other proteins that form part of the viral replication complex (36, 37).NS1 is a highly conserved 48-kDa glycoprotein with 12 invariant cysteine residues. Although the disulfide linkage arrangement of MVE and DEN NS1 has been described (4, 66), structural analysis is currently lacking. NS1 is inserted into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum via a signal peptide that is cleaved cotranslationally by a cellular signalase to gene...