Autophagy-associated dengue vesicles promote viral transmission avoiding antibody neutralization

作者：Wu Yan Wei; Mettling Clement; Wu Shang Rung; Yu Chia Yi; Perng Guey Chuen; Lin Yee Shin^*; Lin Yea Lih

来源：Scientific Reports, 2016, 6(1): 32243.

DOI：10.1038/srep32243

One of the major defense mechanisms against virus spread in vivo is the blocking of viral infectibility by neutralizing antibodies. We describe here the identification of infectious autophagy-associated dengue vesicles released from infected cells. These vesicles contain viral proteins E, NS1, prM/M, and viral RNA, as well as host lipid droplets and LC3-II, an autophagy marker. The viral RNA can be protected within the autophagic organelles since anti-dengue neutralizing antibodies do not have an effect on the vesicle-mediated transmission that is able to initiate a new round of infection in target cells. Importantly, such infectious vesicles were also detected in a patient serum. Our study suggests that autophagy machinery plays a new role in dengue virus transmission. This discovery explains the inefficiency of neutralizing antibody upon dengue infection as a potential immune evasion mechanism in vivo.

• 出版日期2016-8-25