Case-control study of the immune status of humans infected with zoonotic gorilla simian foamy viruses
Abstract
Background. Zoonotic simian foamy viruses (SFVs) establish persistent infections in humans, for whom the long-term consequences for health are poorly described. Here, we aimed to characterize blood-cell phenotypes and plasma biomarkers associated with gorilla SFV infection in humans. Methods. We used a case-control design to compare 15 Cameroonian hunters infected with gorilla SFV to 15 controls matched for age and ethnicity. A flow cytometry-based phenotypic study and quantification of soluble immune biomarkers were carried out on blood samples from all participants. Wilcoxon signed rank tests were used to compare cases and controls. Results. Cases had a significantly higher percentage of CD8 T lymphocytes than controls (median: 17.6% vs. 13.7%, P = 0.03), but similar levels of B, NK, and CD4 T lymphocytes. Cases also had a lower proportion of recent CD4 thymic emigrants (10.9% vs. 18.6%, P = 0.05), a higher proportion of programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) expressing memory CD4 T lymphocytes (31.7% vs. 24.7%, P = 0.001), and higher plasma levels of the soluble CD163 scavenger receptor (0.84 vs 0.59 µg/mL, P = 0.003) than controls. Conclusions. We show, for the first time, that chronic infection with SFV is associated with T lymphocyte differentiation and monocyte activation.
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