2022/12/08 by Yusi Zhang, Meng Wang, Xiyue Zhang +10
Immunology and Microbiology · Medicine · #Cytomegalovirus and herpesvirus research #Immune Cell Function and Interaction #Viral Infections and Vectors
paper · pdf · doi:10.1093/cei/uxac111
crossref issued 2022/12/08 · crossref published 2022/12/08 · crossref published-online 2022/12/08 · openalex publication_date 2022/12/08 · crossref created 2022/12/08 · crossref published-print 2023/03/08 · crossref deposited 2023/08/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/07/28 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Hantaan virus (HTNV) infection causes an epidemic of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) mainly in Asia. Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are innate-like T lymphocytes known to play an important role in innate host defense during virus infection. However, their roles and phenotypes during HTNV infection have not yet been explored. We characterized CD8+MAIT cells from HFRS patients based on scRNA-seq data combined with flow cytometry data. We showed that HTNV infection caused the loss and activation of CD8+MAIT cells in the peripheral blood, which were correlated with disease severity. The production of granzyme B and IFN-γ from CD8+MAIT cells and the limitation of HTNV replication in endothelia cells indicated the anti-viral property of CD8+MAIT cells. In addition, in vitro infection of MAIT cells by HTNV or HTNV-exposed monocytes showed that the activation of MAIT cells was IL-18 mediated. In conclusion, this study identified, for the first time, gene expression profiles of MAIT cells, provided underlying molecular mechanisms for activation of MAIT cells during HTNV infection, and suggested a potential anti-viral role of MAIT cells in HFRS.