Evaluation of Zika Virus-specific T-cell Responses in Immunoprivileged Organs of Infected Ifnar1(-/-) Mice

Zhang, Yongli; Zhang, Hangjie; Ma, Wenqiang; Liu, Kefang; Zhao, Min; Zhao, Yingze; Lu, Xuancheng; Zhang, Fuping; Li, Xiangdong; Gao, George F.; Liu, William J.

Much remains to be learned about the cellular immune responses to the ZIKV. CD4 + and CD8 + T-cell responses to the capsid, envelope, and nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) have been observed in ZIKV-infected monkeys and humans 6, 7, 8 . In mice, several studies have indicated that CD8 + T cells play a protective role in controlling the ZIKV replication 9, 10, 11 . Importantly, Jurado et al. demonstrated that a ZIKV infection results in the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier and perivascular infiltration of CD8 + effector T cells within the testes of Ifnar1 -/mice. Furthermore, they showed that CD8 + T cells instigate ZIKV-associated paralysis and appear to play a role in the neonatal brain immunopathology. In a previous study, we prepared the ZIKV-E 294-302 tetramer and showed that ZIKV-specific CD8 + T cells exist in the brains and spinal cords of ZIKV-infected Ifnar1 -/mice, which may have important implications for the design and development of ZIKV vaccines 10 .