Encephalitic alphavirus infection induces long-term humoral and cell-mediated responses in seropositive participants from Panama

Encephalitic alphaviruses are an emerging viral threat with a history of large-scale outbreaks. Evaluating the immune response to natural infection in survivors is critical to the rational development of medical countermeasures (MCM), and yet little is known thus far. Here, we describe a comprehensive analysis of adaptive immune responses from a cohort of 37 convalescent seropositive individuals of Venezuelan equine encephalitis and/or Madariaga virus from Panama. We demonstrate persistent and polyfunctional B cell responses, as well as memory T cell cytokine production in response to viral antigen stimulation at least 3 years post-infection. VEEV survivors exhibit a higher proportion of strong responders with wider cross-reactivity than MADV survivors. This work illustrates the importance of a scientific focus on global health and international collaboration, explores several aspects of immunological engagement under-reported in the context of encephalitic alphaviruses, and should be leveraged to inform benchmarks for MCM evaluation and design.

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Publication Details

Journal
PLoS neglected tropical diseases
Published
2026-09-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0014660
Primary Topic
Mosquito-borne diseases and control
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Encephalitic alphavirus infection induces long-term humoral and cell-mediated responses in seropositive participants from Panama

Josefrancisco Galué, John M. Dye, Crystal L. Moyer, Rita Corrales et al.
PLoS neglected tropical diseases
Mosquito-borne diseases and control
article

Encephalitic alphavirus infection induces long-term humoral and cell-mediated responses in seropositive participants from Panama

Josefrancisco Galué, John M. Dye, Crystal L. Moyer, Rita Corrales, Zumara Chaverra, Jean‐Paul Carrera, Zachary A. Bornholdt, Michelle L. Rock, Sandra López-Vergès, Andrew S. Herbert, Davis Beltrán, Luis Felipe Rivera, Dafna Abelson, Erick V. O’Brien, Darrell L. Wetzel, Juan M. Pascale, Jennifer Marciaga, Courtney A. Cohen, Yelissa Suarez, Megan C. Ha, Larry Zietlin
article en

Abstract

Encephalitic alphaviruses are an emerging viral threat with a history of large-scale outbreaks. Evaluating the immune response to natural infection in survivors is critical to the rational development of medical countermeasures (MCM), and yet little is known thus far. Here, we describe a comprehensive analysis of adaptive immune responses from a cohort of 37 convalescent seropositive individuals of Venezuelan equine encephalitis and/or Madariaga virus from Panama. We demonstrate persistent and polyfunctional B cell responses, as well as memory T cell cytokine production in response to viral antigen stimulation at least 3 years post-infection. VEEV survivors exhibit a higher proportion of strong responders with wider cross-reactivity than MADV survivors. This work illustrates the importance of a scientific focus on global health and international collaboration, explores several aspects of immunological engagement under-reported in the context of encephalitic alphaviruses, and should be leveraged to inform benchmarks for MCM evaluation and design.

PLoS neglected tropical diseasesVol. 20(9)
Instituto Conmemorativo Gorgas de Estudios de la Salud (PA), Henry M. Jackson Foundation (US), Oak Ridge Associated Universities (US), United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (US), Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies (US), Mapp Biopharmaceutical (United States) (US), Center for Innovation (US), Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología (PA), The Geneva Foundation (US), Heat Biologics (United States) (US), City of Knowledge (PA), Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Partnerships for the goals
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Mosquito-borne diseases and control
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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