SARS-CoV-2 spike antibodies cross-react with dengue virus and enhance infection in vitro and in vivo
The presence of non-neutralizing antibodies of any dengue serotype increases the severity of subsequent infection by other dengue serotypes. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the number of symptomatic dengue cases increased in India. We found that antibodies isolated from convalescent plasma from COVID-19 patients enhances DENV2 infection <i>in vitro</i>. CR3022, an antibody against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, also elevated DENV2 infection <i>in vitro</i>. <i>In silico</i> protein-protein interactions between spike antibodies and the DENV2 E-protein revealed significant interactions. Likewise, few monoclonal/polyclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 have shown increased dengue infection <i>in vitro</i>. Importantly, AG129 mice infected with SARS-CoV-2 three weeks prior to DENV2 infection showed elevated dengue pathogenesis. This highlights the possibility of elevated infection and symptomatic dengue disease in COVID-19 survivors.
Authors
- Tania Sarkar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7398-8040)
- Pallavi Kshetrapal (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6219-5155)
- Tripti Shrivastava (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6942-1274)
- Lokesh Kumar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7073-9618)
- Deepak Kumar Rathore (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7167-1723)
- Tejeswara Rao Asuru (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-6745-9682)
- Sudipta Sonar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6452-6015)
- Sreevatsan Raghavan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3031-8469)
- Garima Joshi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3039-574X)
- Mahima Tiwari (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3707-6992)
- Vikas Phagna
- Jaskaran Kaur (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4882-1556)
- Sankar Bhattacharyya (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9087-8460)
- Banwari Lal
- Satendra Kumar
- Nisha Beniwal
- Puneet Srivastav
- Nitya Wadhwa
- Kamini Jakhar
- Sushma Mithina
- Savita Singh
- Shailendra Mani
- Prasenjit Guchhait
- Shailendra Asthana
- Vishal Gupta
- Gagandeep Singh
- Ramachandran Thiruvengadam
- Mudita Gosain
- Sandeep Kumar
Institutions
- Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (IN)
- Regional Centre for Biotechnology (IN)
- Immune Regulation (United Kingdom) (GB)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Frontiers in Immunology
- Published
- 2026-01-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2025.1724625
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Mosquito-borne diseases and control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 41.85
Funders
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
- Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India
- Translational Health Science and Technology Institute
- National Institutes of Health
- Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases