Longitudinal Analysis of Natural Killer Cells in Dengue Virus-Infected Patients in Comparison to Chikungunya and Chikungunya/Dengue Virus-Infected Patients

Background Dengue virus (DENV) is the most prominent arbovirus worldwide, causing major epidemics in South-East Asia, South America and Africa. In 2010, a major DENV-2 outbreak occurred in Gabon with cases of patients co-infected with chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Although the innate immune response is thought to be of primordial importance in the development and outcome of arbovirus-associated pathologies, our knowledge of the role of natural killer (NK) cells during DENV-2 infection is in its infancy. Methodology We performed the first extensive comparative longitudinal characterization of NK cells in patients infected by DENV-2, CHIKV or both viruses. Hierarchical clustering and principal component analyses were performed to discriminate between CHIKV and DENV-2 infected patients. Principal Findings We observed that both activation and differentiation of NK cells are induced during the acute phase of infection by DENV-2 and CHIKV. Combinatorial analysis however, revealed that both arboviruses induced two different signatures of NK-cell responses, with CHIKV more associated with terminal differentiation, and DENV-2 with inhibitory KIRs. We show also that intracellular production of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) by NK cells is strongly stimulated in acute DENV-2 infection, compared to CHIKV. Conclusions/Significance Although specific differences were observed between CHIKV and DENV-2 infections, the significant remodeling of NK cell populations observed here suggests their potential roles in the control of both infections.