A unique immune signature of serum cytokine and chemokine dynamics in patients with Zika virus infection from a tropical region in Southern Mexico

Abstract

Objectives: To describe the kinetics of circulating cytokines and chemokines in humans with ZIKAV infection.

Methods: Serum levels of different immune mediators in patients with ZIKAV infection were measured at distinct stages of the disease, as well as in culture supernatants from human monocytes infected with a clinical ZIKAV isolate. We also looked for clinical features associated with specific immune signatures among symptomatic patients.

Results: We evaluated 23 ZIKAV-infected patients. Their mean age was 32 ± 8.3 years and 65% were female. ZIKAV patients showed elevated IL-9, IL-17A, and CXCL10 levels at acute stages of the disease. At day 28, levels of CCL4 and CCL5 were increased, whereas IL-1RA, CXCL8 and CCL2 were decreased. At baseline, IL-7 was increased among patients with headache, whereas CCL2, and CCL3 were decreased in patients with bleeding and rash, respectively. Our clinical ZIKAV isolate induced a broad immune response in monocytes that did not resemble the signature observed in ZIKAV patients.

Conclusions: We showed a unique immune signature in our cohort of ZIKAV-infected patients. Our study may provide valuable evidence helpful to identify immune correlates of protection against ZIKAV.

Keywords: Acute infection; Chemokines; Clinical symptoms; Cytokines; Inflammatory profile; Zika virus.