Dengue virus infection elicits highly polarized CX3CR1+cytotoxic CD4+T cells associated with protective immunity

Abstract

Dengue virus (DENV) is a rapidly spreading pathogen with unusual pathogenesis, and correlates of protection from severe dengue disease and vaccine efficacy have not yet been established. Although DENV-specific CD8+T-cell responses have been extensively studied, the breadth and specificity of CD4+T-cell responses remains to be defined. Here we define HLA-restricted CD4+T-cell epitopes resulting from natural infection with dengue virus in a hyperepidemic setting. Ex vivo flow-cytometric analysis of DENV-specific CD4+T cells revealed that the virus-specific cells were highly polarized, with a strong bias toward a CX3CR1+Eomesodermin+perforin+granzyme B+CD45RA+CD4 CTL phenotype. Importantly, these cells correlated with a protective HLA DR allele, and we demonstrate that these cells have direct ex vivo DENV-specific cytolytic activity. We speculate that cytotoxic dengue-specific CD4+T cells may play a role in the control of dengue infection in vivo, and this immune correlate may be a key target for dengue virus vaccine development.