Fc domain effector activity in dengue disease

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ABSTRACT – Project 1, Ravetch Flaviviruses, such as dengue, Zika, and West Nile have a significant impact on public health with tremendous socioeconomic consequences for a large fraction of the world's population. A feature common to all flaviviruses is the clear distinction between infection and disease. For example, only a small fraction of dengue-infected individuals develops dengue disease, which is characterized by a diverse spectrum of clinical symptoms of variable severity. A large body of epidemiological data suggests that prior flavivirus infection represents the major risk factor for dengue disease susceptibility. Indeed, susceptibility to severe dengue disease is associated with the titers of cross-reactive, non-neutralizing IgG antibodies that are elicited during primary infection with other flaviviruses. The established mechanistic model by which IgG antibodies contribute to disease susceptibility is based upon the in vitro observation that these antibodies mediate infection of leukocytes through increased uptake of virus-IgG complexes via specific interactions of their Fc domains with Fcγ receptors (FcγRs); a phenomenon termed antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of infection. Although this model can sufficiently explain susceptibility to dengue disease, it is likely that complex host susceptibility factors exist that contribute to disease pathogenesis and determine severity among symptomatic dengue patients. Consistent with this hypothesis, our recent analysis of the Fc domain structure of IgG antibodies derived from dengue patients with variable disease severity revealed that specific Fc domain characteristics that confer increased affinity for pro- inflammatory, activating FcγRs, are enriched in patients with severe disease and evidence for specific clinical manifestations, including thrombocytopenia and vascular leakage. These antibodies exacerbate disease severity by inducing platelet depletion via FcγR-mediated mechanisms, suggesting that previously-uncharacterized ADE mechanisms contribute to disease pathology. Understanding the mechanisms that mediate dengue ADE is essential for predicting the susceptibility to severe dengue disease in high-risk patient groups and developing approaches to prevent or reduce disease-associated clinical manifestations. In the proposed studies, we will analyze the IgG responses from cohorts of dengue-infected patients with variable disease severity to identify the specific IgG features that are associated with dengue disease severity and clinical manifestations. Follow-up mechanistic studies in mouse models of dengue disease using strains fully humanized for all classes of FcγRs will be performed to determine the role of specific human FcγRs in dengue disease and characterize the precise FcγR pathways that contribute to disease pathogenesis. Lastly, we will characterize IgG responses elicited upon influenza vaccination of individuals with differential susceptibility to severe flavivirus infection to determine whether changes in the Fc domain structure represent immune determinants for predicting disease susceptibility. Our studies will provide novel insights into the mechanisms by which pathogenic IgG antibodies mediate dengue disease and have a broader impact on our understanding of the pathogenesis of other flaviviruses, like Zika.