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Mosquito saliva is a mix of numerous proteins that are injected into the skin while the mosquito searches for a blood meal. While mosquito saliva is known to be immunogenic, the salivary components driving these immune responses, as well as the types of immune responses that occur, are not well characterized. We investigated the effects of one potential immunomodulatory mosquito saliva protein, sialokinin, on the human immune response. We used flow cytometry to compare human immune cell populations between humanized mice bitten by sialokinin knockout mosquitoes or injected with sialokinin, and compared them to those bitten by wild-type mosquitoes, unbitten, or saline-injected control mice. Humanized mice received 4 mosquito bites or a single injection, were euthanized after 7 days, and skin, spleen, bone marrow, and blood were harvested for immune cell profiling. Our results show that bites from sialokinin knockout mosquitoes induced monocyte and macrophage populations in the skin, blood, bone marrow, and spleens, and primarily affected CD11c- cell populations. Other increased immune cells included plasmacytoid dendritic cells in the blood, natural killer cells in the skin and blood, and CD4+ T cells in all samples analyzed. Conversely, we observed that mice bitten with sialokinin knockout mosquitoes had decreased NKT cell populations in the skin, and fewer B cells in the blood, spleen, and bone marrow. Taken together, we demonstrated that sialokinin knockout saliva induces elements of a TH1 cellular immune response, suggesting that the sialokinin peptide is inducing a TH2 cellular immune response during wild-type mosquito biting. These findings are an important step towards understanding how mosquito saliva modulates the human immune system and which components of saliva may be critical for arboviral infection. By identifying immunomodulatory salivary proteins, such as sialokinin, we can develop vaccines against mosquito saliva components and direct efforts towards blocking arboviral infections. Author summary: Numerous studies have shown the effects of mosquito saliva proteins on the immune system of animals and humans with disease caused by mosquito-borne pathogens. We have previously described some of these effects in humanized mice (which contain specific human immune system cells and develop arboviral diseases similar to humans) infected by mosquito bite with dengue and chikungunya viruses. In this study, we show that humanized mice have altered cellular immune responses after they are bitten by uninfected mosquitoes lacking the sialokinin salivary protein. Our results suggest that sialokinin alone shifts mammalian immunity towards a TH2 response, away from the anti-viral, cell-mediated, and humoral responses that would protect against viruses included in the saliva. This is the first study of its kind, and it highlights how the effects of specific saliva components can be evaluated for human therapeutic intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an emerging, mosquito-borne alphavirus responsible for acute to chronic arthralgias and neuropathies. Although it originated in central Africa, recent reports of disease have come from many parts of the world, including the Americas. While limiting human CHIKV cases through mosquito control has been used, it has not been entirely successful. There are currently no licensed vaccines or treatments specific for CHIKV disease, thus more work is needed to develop effective countermeasures. Current animal research on CHIKV is often not representative of human disease. Most models use CHIKV needle inoculation via unnatural routes to create immediate viremia and localized clinical signs; these methods neglect the natural route of transmission (the mosquito vector bite) and the associated human immune response. Since mosquito saliva has been shown to have a profound effect on viral pathogenesis, we evaluated a novel model of infection that included the natural vector, Aedes species mosquitoes, transmitting CHIKV to mice containing components of the human immune system. Humanized mice infected by 3–6 mosquito bites showed signs of systemic infection, with demonstrable viremia (by qRT-PCR and immunofluorescent antibody assay), mild to moderate clinical signs (by observation, histology, and immunohistochemistry), and immune responses consistent with human infection (by flow cytometry and IgM ELISA). This model should give a better understanding of human CHIKV disease and allow for more realistic evaluations of mechanisms of pathogenesis, prophylaxis, and treatments. Author summary: In humans, CHIKV infections are mostly symptomatic, resulting in fever, viremia, and debilitating joint disease; viremia is present up to 13 days after the onset of fever and peaks at the onset of clinical signs. Previous studies in mice and nonhuman primates (NHPs) have often neglected the mosquito vector, leading to variable viremias and infection of tissues primarily at the sites of CHIKV injection (legs in mice, ankles or spleen/liver in NHPs). This is the first study to demonstrate systemic CHIKV infection caused by infected mosquito bites in humanized laboratory mice. Disease seen with this humanized mouse model mimics human clinical signs and symptoms, with signs of inflammation in muscle and joints due to viral replication. This humanized mouse model provides a basis for assessing human CHIKV pathogenesis, prophylaxis, and treatment, under natural conditions of infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most important clinical signs of dengue virus infection is the reduction of white blood cells and platelets in human peripheral blood (leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, respectively), which may significantly impair the clearance of dengue virus by the immune system. The cause of thrombocytopenia and leukopenia during dengue infection is still unknown, but may be related to severe suppression of bone marrow populations including hematopoietic stem cells and megakaryocytes, the progenitors of white blood cells and platelets respectively. Here, we explored the possibility that bone marrow suppression, including ablation of megakaryocyte populations, is caused by dengue virus infection of megakaryocytes. We used three different models to measure dengue virus infection and replication: in vitro, in a human megakaryocyte cell line with viral receptors, ex vivo, in primary human megakaryocytes, and in vivo, in humanized mice. All three systems support dengue virus infection and replication, including virus strains from serotypes 1, 2, and 3, and clinical signs, in vivo; all assays showed viral RNA and/or infectious viruses 7–14 days post-infection. Although we saw no significant decrease in cell viability in vitro, there was significant depletion of mature megakaryocytes in vivo. We conclude that megakaryocytes can produce dengue viruses in the bone marrow niche, and a reduction of cell numbers may affect bone marrow homeostasis. Author summary: Dengue virus is the most common cause of viral hemorrhagic fever in humans. Over half of the world's population lives in an at risk area for dengue virus infection, and this number will continue to grow as climate change allows the mosquito vectors of dengue virus to expand their breeding ranges to more temperate climates. Currently, there are no specific treatments for dengue virus infection. Understanding how dengue virus causes hemorrhagic fever could inform the development of these much needed treatments. Populations of important immune system mediators, such as white blood cells and platelets, are significantly dysregulated during dengue virus infection. These cells originate in the bone marrow, which experiences significant suppression, including a complete ablation of megakaryocytes (platelet progenitor cells), during DENV infection. Here, we add to the knowledge on how dengue virus induces bone marrow suppression by investigating whether dengue virus infects human megakaryocytes. We discovered that dengue virus infects human megakaryocytes in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo models of dengue virus infection; however, dengue virus infection does not appear to directly affect viability of human megakaryocytes. Future studies will investigate whether infected megakaryocytes are still able to perform their functions of producing platelets and maintaining bone marrow homeostasis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mosquito saliva is a very complex concoction of >100 proteins, many of which have unknown functions. The effects of mosquito saliva proteins injected into our skin during blood feeding have been studied mainly in mouse models of injection or biting, with many of these systems producing results that may not be relevant to human disease. Here, we describe the numerous effects that mosquito bites have on human immune cells in mice engrafted with human hematopoietic stem cells. We used flow cytometry and multiplex cytokine bead array assays, with detailed statistical analyses, to detect small but significant variations in immune cell functions after 4 mosquitoes fed on humanized mice footpads. After preliminary analyses, at different early times after biting, we focused on assessing innate immune and subsequent cellular responses at 6 hours, 24 hours and 7 days after mosquito bites. We detected both Th1 and Th2 human immune responses, and delayed effects on cytokine levels in the blood, and immune cell compositions in the skin and bone marrow, up to 7 days post-bites. These are the first measurements of this kind, with human immune responses in whole animals, bitten by living mosquitoes, versus previous studies using incomplete mouse models and salivary gland extracts or needle injected saliva. The results have major implications for the study of hematophagous insect saliva, its effects on the human immune system, with or without pathogen transmission, and the possibility of determining which of these proteins to target for vaccination, in attempts to block transmission of numerous tropical diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(B) Infected, degenerate muscle fibrils from minimal (score 1) myositis at day 7 post mosquito bite, 40X magnification. (C) Infected, degenerate muscle fibrils from mild (score 2) myositis at day 14 post mosquito bite, 40X magnification. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Zika virus (Flavivirus genus) is the first mosquito-borne virus known to cause high rates of microcephaly and abortion in humans. Typically, Zika virus causes a self-limiting, systemic illness; however, the current outbreak of Zika virus in the Americas has been associated with increased rates of fetal malformations and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Very few Zika virus isolates have been described in the literature, and live viruses are needed to perform studies of pathogenesis and to develop vaccines and treatments. Methodology/Clinical findings: We isolated Zika virus, strain FLR, directly from the serum of an individual infected in Barranquilla, Colombia (December, 2015). Here, we describe the patient’s clinical course and characterize strain FLR by its growth characteristics in mosquito and mammalian cells and its partial resistance to UV-inactivation. The full genome sequence of FLR was also analyzed (including the 3’ un-translated region), to determine its probable geographic origin, and to pinpoint structural differences from other Zika virus strains. Conclusions/Significance: We anticipate that the study of this low passage, clinical isolate of Zika virus, which is available for worldwide distribution, will help uncover the mechanisms of viral replication and host immune responses contributing to the varied and sometimes severe clinical presentations seen during the current epidemic in the Americas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]