Comparison by flow cytometry of immune changes induced in human monocyte-derived dendritic cells upon infection with dengue 2 live-attenuated vaccine or 16681 parental strain.

Dengue is an important threat for world-wide public health. Different vaccines are under development, which are currently assessed using a battery of in vitro and in vivo assays before moving on to humans. It is also important to assess vaccine characteristics on human primary cells; among them, dendritic cells, the most efficient antigen-presenting cells, are the first targets of dengue virus infection. In this study, we used flow cytometry to compare the consequences of such an infection by dengue serotype 2 live-attenuated vaccine (LAV2) or its parental strain DEN2 16681 (DEN2). Optimal conditions of infection have first been defined by a mathematical approach, and flow cytometry allowed studying modifications induced in both infected and noninfected dendritic cell populations after surface and intracellular labeling. Both DEN2 and LAV2 increased the expression of the phenotypic markers CD80, CD86, CD40, CD1a, HLA ABC and CD83, demonstrating cellular activation. Stimulated dendritic cells produced tumor necrosis factor-alpha in particular, and, to a lower extent, interleukin 6. Of importance, whereas DEN2 induced cytokine production both in the infected and noninfected populations, LAV2-induced cytokine production was restricted to the infected population. This limited activation triggered by LAV2 would be in agreement with its attenuation. In conclusion, these in vitro experiments using primary human dendritic cells may participate, in combination with other assays, to the evaluation of the immunogenicity and safety of dengue vaccine candidates.