Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

MAIT cells are activated during human viral infections

2016; Nature Portfolio; Volume: 7; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1038/ncomms11653

2041-1723

Bonnie van Wilgenburg, Iris Scherwitzl, Edward Hutchinson, Tianqi Leng, Ayako Kurioka, Corinna Kulicke, Catherine de Lara, Suzanne Cole, Sirijitt Vasanawathana, Wannee Limpitikul, Prida Malasit, Duncan Young, Laura Denney, Eleanor Barnes, Jonathan K. Ball, Gary Burgess, G Cooke, John Dillon, Charles Gore, Graham R. Foster, Indra Neil Guha, Rachel Halford, Cham Herath, Christopher Holmes, Anita Y. M. Howe, Emma Hudson, William L. Irving, Salim I. Khakoo, Diana Koletzki, Natasha K. Martin, Tamyo Mbisa, Jane A. McKeating, John McLauchlan, Alec Miners, Andrea Murray, Peter Shaw, Peter Simmonds, Chris C. A. Spencer, Paul Targett‐Adams, Emma C. Thomson, Peter Vickerman, Nicole Zitzmann, Michael Moore, Paolo Fabris, Maria Teresa Giordani, Ye Htun Oo, Stephen M. Laidlaw, Lynn B. Dustin, Ling‐Pei Ho, Fiona M. Thompson, Narayan Ramamurthy, Juthathip Mongkolsapaya, Christian B. Willberg, Gavin Screaton, Paul Klenerman,

HIV Research and Treatment

Abstract Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are abundant in humans and recognize bacterial ligands. Here, we demonstrate that MAIT cells are also activated during human viral infections in vivo . MAIT cells activation was observed during infection with dengue virus, hepatitis C virus and influenza virus. This activation—driving cytokine release and Granzyme B upregulation—is TCR-independent but dependent on IL-18 in synergy with IL-12, IL-15 and/or interferon-α/β. IL-18 levels and MAIT cell activation correlate with disease severity in acute dengue infection. Furthermore, HCV treatment with interferon-α leads to specific MAIT cell activation in vivo in parallel with an enhanced therapeutic response. Moreover, TCR-independent activation of MAIT cells leads to a reduction of HCV replication in vitro mediated by IFN-γ. Together these data demonstrate MAIT cells are activated following viral infections, and suggest a potential role in both host defence and immunopathology.