Antibodies for Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Protect Embryoid Bodies from Chikungunya Virus

Abstract

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an alphavirus that causes febrile illness punctuated by severe polyarthralgia. After the emergence of CHIKV in the Western Hemisphere, multiple reports of congenital infections were published that documented neurological complications, cardiac defects, respiratory distress, and miscarriage. The Western Hemisphere is endemic to several alphaviruses, and whether antigenic cross-reactivity can impact the course of infection has not been explored. Recent advances in biomedical engineering have produced cell co-culture models that replicate the cellular interface at the maternal fetal axis. We employed a trans-well assay to determine if cross-reactive antibodies affected the movement and replication of CHIKV across placental cells and into an embryoid body. The data showed that antibodies to Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus significantly reduced CHIKV viral load in embryoid bodies. The data highlighted the fact that viral pathogenesis can be cell-specific and that exploiting antigenic cross-reactivity could be an avenue for reducing the impact of congenital CHIKV infections.

Post-Vaccination Yellow Fever Antiserum Reduces Zika Virus in Embryoid Bodies When Placental Cells are Present

“…# NR-50355 and NR-116) and expanded once in Vero cells. The virus was titrated using a standard plaque assay in Vero cells as described elsewhere [ 47 ]. All the yellow fever antisera were obtained through BEI Resources, and three sera taken from different non-human primates were pooled to account for differential host-specific immune responses (BEIresources.org) [ 48 ].…”

“…Methods previously described elsewhere were followed [ 35 , 47 ]. Briefly, Corning 12 mm Transwell ® 3.0 µm Pore PTFE Membrane Inserts (Corning, NY, USA catalog# 3494) were incubated with Matrigel at a 5× coating dilution for 1 h at 37 °C.…”

“…Methods previously described elsewhere were followed [35,47]. Briefly, Corning 12 mm Transwell ® 3.0 µm Pore PTFE Membrane Inserts (Corning, NY, USA catalog# 3494) were incubated with Matrigel at a 5× coating dilution for 1 h at 37 • C. The inserts were rinsed with DMEM-F12, and then, HUVEC cells were seeded on the basolateral side of the insert at a concentration of 1.0 × 10 5 cells per 100 µL.…”

“…Briefly, Corning 12 mm Transwell ® 3.0 µm Pore PTFE Membrane Inserts (Corning, NY, USA catalog# 3494) were incubated with Matrigel at a 5× coating dilution for 1 h at 37 • C. The inserts were rinsed with DMEM-F12, and then, HUVEC cells were seeded on the basolateral side of the insert at a concentration of 1.0 × 10 5 cells per 100 µL. The HUVEC monolayer on the basolateral side was achieved using methods described by Aengenheister et al (2018) [47]. Briefly, the inserts were inverted into 6-well plates, with 1 mL of PBS in one well, to ensure sufficient humidity.…”

Post-Vaccination Yellow Fever Antibodies Enhance Zika Virus Infection in Embryoid Bodies

“…We followed methods previously described elsewhere [49,50]. Briefly, HUVEC cells were seeded on the basolateral side of the Corning 12 mm Trans-well® -COL Collagen-Coated 3.0 µ m Pore PTFE Membrane Insert (Corning, NY, USA catalog# 3494) at a concentration of 1.0x10 5 cells per 200µ l. The HUVEC monolayer on the basolateral side was achieved using methods described by Aengenheister et al (2018) [35].…”