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Updated: Apr 14, 2026
Evaluation of Zika Virus-specific T-cell Responses in Immunoprivileged Organs of Infected Ifnar1-/- Mice
Published on: October 17, 2018
Envelope specific T cell responses & cytokine profiles in chikungunya patients hospitalized with different clinical
Anuradha S Tripathy, Babasaheb V Tandale, Saravana S Balaji
1Hepatitis Group, National Institute of Virology (ICMR), Pune, India.
Background & Objectives:
Since the 2006 massive outbreaks, chikungunya (CHIK) is a major public health concern in India. The aim of this study was to assess envelope specific immune responses in patients with chikungunya infection.
Methods:
This study included 46 hospitalized patients with chikungunya virus infection (encephalitis, n=22, other systemic involvement, OSI, n=12, classical, n=12) and six controls from Ahmedabad city, Gujarat, India. T cell responses and the levels of Th1, pro/ anti-inflammatory cytokines against the CHIK virus envelope antigens were assessed by lymphocyte proliferation assay and by cytometric bead array in flow cytometry, respectively.
Results:
Lymphoproliferative response was uniform among the patients. Comparisons of cytokines revealed significantly higher levels of interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5 in encephalitis, OSI and classical patients versus controls. The levels of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α were higher in classical patients categories compared to the controls. Interferon (IFN)-γ levels were lower in encephalitis patients versus control.
Interpretation & Conclusions:
Our findings showed recognition of T cell epitopes on the envelope region of chikungunya virus by all patient categories. Lower level of IFN-γ may be associated with the severity of disease in these patients.
