Abstract
Mayaro virus (MAYV) is endemic in South American countries where it is responsible for sporadic outbreaks of acute febrile illness. The hallmark of MAYV infection is a highly debilitating and chronic arthralgia. Although MAYV emergence is a potential threat, there are no specific therapies or licensed vaccine. In this study, we developed a murine model of MAYV infection that emulates many of the most relevant clinical features of the infection in humans and tested a live-attenuated MAYV vaccine candidate (MAYV/IRES). Intraplantar inoculation of a WT strain of MAYV into immunocompetent mice induced persistent hypernociception, transient viral replication in target organs, systemic production of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines and specific humoral IgM and IgG responses. Inoculation of MAYV/IRES in BALB/c mice induced strong specific cellular and humoral responses. Moreover, MAYV/IRES vaccination of immunocompetent and interferon receptor-defective mice resulted in protection from disease induced by the virulent wt MAYV strain. Thus, this study describes a novel model of MAYV infection in immunocompetent mice and highlights the potential role of a live-attenuated MAYV vaccine candidate in host’s protection from disease induced by a virulent MAYV strain.
Highlights
Log Mayaro virus (MAYV) PFU per popliteal lymphnode 1d 3d 5d 7d 14d 21d Log MAYV PFU/g (Quadriceps) 1d 3d 5d 7d 14d 21d
The similarity of the clinical presentation of Mayaro fever (MF) with other arboviral diseases, such as dengue, along with the absence of good diagnostic kits in areas of co-circulation of multiple arboviruses suggest that the precise number of cases is probably underestimated and the incidence of MAYV infection could be much higher[10,13,22], e.g., it has been suggested that about 41.5% of riverside inhabitants have antibodies against MAYV23
The MAYV/IRES-infected group exhibited transitory body weight loss and 100% of survival (Fig. 7f,g). These results clearly suggest that low inocula of MAYV/IRES are safe in mice that are immunodeficient
Summary
Log MAYV PFU per popliteal lymphnode 1d 3d 5d 7d 14d 21d Log MAYV PFU/g (Quadriceps) 1d 3d 5d 7d 14d 21d. Results showed that while mice infected with the wt MAYV strain presented elevated hypernociception from day 1 until day 21 of virus inoculation
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