Characterization of the Monkeypox Virus [MPX]-Specific Immune Response in MPX-Cured Individuals Using Whole Blood to Monitor Memory Response
Elisa Petruccioli,
Settimia Sbarra,
Serena Vita,
Andrea Salmi,
Gilda Cuzzi,
Patrizia De Marco,
Giulia Matusali,
Assunta Navarra,
Luca Pierelli,
Alba Grifoni,
Alessandro Sette,
Fabrizio Maggi,
Emanuele Nicastri,
Delia Goletti
Affiliations
Elisa Petruccioli
Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
Settimia Sbarra
Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
Serena Vita
Highly Infectious Diseases Isolation Unit, Clinical Department, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
Andrea Salmi
Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
Gilda Cuzzi
Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
Patrizia De Marco
Highly Infectious Diseases Isolation Unit, Clinical Department, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
Giulia Matusali
Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety Laboratories, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
Assunta Navarra
Clinical Epidemiology Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
Luca Pierelli
Unità Operativa Complessa (UOC) Transfusion Medicine and Stem Cell, San Camillo Forlanini Hospital, 00149 Rome, Italy
Alba Grifoni
Center for Vaccine Innovation, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
Alessandro Sette
Center for Vaccine Innovation, La Jolla Institute for Immunology, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
Fabrizio Maggi
Laboratory of Virology and Biosafety Laboratories, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
Emanuele Nicastri
Highly Infectious Diseases Isolation Unit, Clinical Department, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
Delia Goletti
Translational Research Unit, National Institute for Infectious Diseases “Lazzaro Spallanzani” IRCCS, 00149 Rome, Italy
Background: Monkeypox (Mpox) is a zoonotic disease caused by monkeypox virus (MPXV), an Orthopoxvirus (OPXV). Since we are observing the first MPXV outbreak outside the African continent, the general population probably does not have a pre-existing memory response for MPXV but may have immunity against the previous smallpox vaccine based on a live replicating Vaccinia strain (VACV). Using a whole blood platform, we aim to study the MPXV- T-cell-specific response in Mpox-cured subjects. Methods: We enrolled 16 subjects diagnosed with Mpox in the previous 3–7 months and 15 healthy donors (HD) with no recent vaccination history. Whole blood was stimulated overnight with MPXV and VACV peptides to elicit CD4 and CD8 T-cell-specific responses, which were evaluated by ELISA and multiplex assay. Results: Mpox-cured subjects showed a significant IFN-γ T-cell response to MPXV and VACV. Besides IFN-γ, IL-6, IP-10, IL-8, IL-2, G-CSF, MCP-1, MIP1-α, MIP-1β, IL-1Rα, and IL-5 were significantly induced after specific stimulation compared to the unstimulated control. The specific response was mainly induced by the CD4 peptides MPX-CD4-E and VACV-CD4. Conclusions: We showed that MPXV-specific responses have a mixed Th1- and Th2-response in a whole blood platform assay, which may be useful for monitoring the specific immunity induced by vaccination or infection.
