Human B cells are susceptible to Andes virus infection and up-regulate CD61 -the hantavirus entry receptor- upon activation

GARCIA M.; IGLESIAS A; LANDONI V; MARTINEZ V; SOLÀ RIERA C; MALEKI K; BELLOMO C; KLINGSTRÖM J; BASSI SC; GUPTA S; SASIAIN MC; SCHIERLOH P

Congreso; LXIV Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Inmunología.; 2016

SAI

Hantaviruses produce 2 zoonotic life-threatening diseases:Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome and Hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS). In a previous study, we observed a massive polyclonal activation of B cells in HPS patients which led us to wonder if these cells may constitute an alternative target for Andes virus (ANDV) infection. To test this hypothesis, purified normal B cells were exposed to ANDV for 24 to 72hs, demonstrating for the first time that these cells are susceptible to infection. Importantly, in our hands, the in vitro infection success was strongly donordependent (45%, n=10) which is consistent with the low basal expression level of CD61 among peripheral B cells (n=10,% of CD61+ B cells Mean (IC95%) = 6 (4-7.8)). The clear co-expression pattern of CD41 with CD61 (p0.05 for IgD+, IgA+, and IgG+ B cells) but was associated to B cell activation state (p