Measles virus induces abnormal differentiation of CD40 ligand-activated human dendritic cells

Measles virus (MV) infection induces a profound immunosuppression responsible for a high rate of mortality in malnourished children. MV can encounter human dendritic cells (DCs) in the respiratory mucosa or in the secondary lymphoid organs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the consequences of DC infection by MV, particularly concerning their maturation and their ability to generate CD8+ T cell proliferation. We first show that MV-infected Langerhans cells or monocyte-derived DCs undergo a maturation process similarly to the one induced by TNF-alpha or LPS, respectively. CD40 ligand (CD40L) expressed on activated T cells is shown to induce terminal differentiation of DCs into mature effector DCs. In contrast, the CD40L-dependent maturation of DCs is inhibited by MV infection, as demonstrated by CD25, CD69, CD71, CD40, CD80, CD86, and CD83 expression down-regulation. Moreover, the CD40L-induced cytokine pattern in DCs is modified by MV infection with inhibition of IL-12 and IL-1alpha/beta and induction of IL-10 mRNAs synthesis. Using peripheral blood lymphocytes from CD40L-deficient patients, we demonstrate that MV infection of DCs prevents the CD40L-dependent CD8+ T cell proliferation. In such DC-PBL cocultures, inhibition of CD80 and CD86 expression on DCs was shown to require both MV replication and CD40 triggering. Finally, for the first time, MV was shown to inhibit tyrosine-phosphorylation level induced by CD40 activation in DCs. Our data demonstrate that MV replication modifies CD40 signaling in DCs, thus leading to impaired maturation. This phenomenon could play a pivotal role in MV-induced immunosuppression.