Intrahepatic Infiltrating NK and CD8 T Cells Cause Liver Cell Death in Different Phases of Dengue Virus Infection

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Elevated liver enzyme level is an outstanding feature in patients with dengue. However, the pathogenic mechanism of liver injury has not been clearly demonstrated. In this study, employing a mouse model we aimed to investigate the immunopathogenic mechanism of dengue liver injury. Immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice were infected intravenously with dengue virus strain 16681. Infected mice had transient viremia, detectable viral capsid gene and cleaved caspase 3 in the liver. In the mean time, NK cell and T cell infiltrations peaked at days 1 and 5, respectively. Neutralizing CXCL10 or depletion of Asialo GM1+ cells reduced cleaved caspase 3 and TUNEL+ cells in the liver at day 1 after infection. CD8+ T cells infiltrated into the liver at later time point and at which time intrahepatic leukocytes (IHL) exhibited cytotoxicity against DENV-infected targets. Cleaved caspase 3 and TUNEL+ cells were diminished in mice with TCRβ deficiency and in those depleted of CD8+ T cells, respectively, at day 5 after infection. Moreover, intrahepatic CD8+ T cells were like their splenic counterparts recognized DENV NS4B99–107 peptide. Together, these results show that infiltrating NK and CD8+ T cells cause liver cell death. While NK cells were responsible for cell death at early time point of infection, CD8+ T cells were for later. CD8+ T cells that recognize NS4B99–107 constitute at least one of the major intrahepatic cytotoxic CD8+ T cell populations.