BACKGROUND:HIV-1 infection is associated with accelerated aging. The senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) includes biological and cytokine profiles that induce cellular senescence and inflammaging. In this study, we leveraged the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) to evaluate the role of SASP in aging, HIV-1 reservoir, and inflammation in people with HIV-1 (PWH) on long-term suppressive antiretroviral therapy (ART). METHODS:In this retrospective study, we included plasma and serum samples from 27 virally suppressed PWH and 10 people without HIV-1 (PWoH) collected in 2019 and 2023. SASP markers were quantified in the 2019 and 2023 samples. Plasma residual viremia, intact and defective proviral DNA were quantified in the 2019 samples. Correlations between SASP markers and HIV-1 reservoir were performed using the Spearman test, and the sparse partial least squares discrimination analysis was used to identify variables that distinguish HIV-1 serostatus. RESULTS:All study participants were male with a median age of 59 years. SASP markers did not show significant changes longitudinally in either group. We identified a set of markers that had moderate performance in distinguishing PWH and PWoH, including cytomegalovirus (CMV) serum antibody titer, matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9), growth/differentiation factor-15, Stanniocalcin-1 and SerpinE1. Among all the SASP markers, MMP-9 was significantly associated with intact HIV-1 proviral levels [ ρ  = 0.60, P  = 0.002, false detection rate (FDR) = 0.03]. CONCLUSION:In this cohort study, we revealed the relationship between SASP markers and HIV-1 persistence. Future interventions targeting the senescence pathways may impact HIV-1 persistence.

Encephalitis, the most significant of the central nervous system (CNS) diseases caused by Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1), may have long-term sequelae in survivors treated with acyclovir, the cause of which is unclear. HSV-1 exhibits a tropism toward neurogenic niches in CNS enriched with neural precursor cells (NPCs), which play a pivotal role in neurogenesis. NPCs are susceptible to HSV-1. There is a paucity of information regarding the influence of HSV-1 on neurogenesis in humans. We investigated HSV-1 infection of NPCs from two individuals. Our results show (i) HSV-1 impairs, to different extents, the proliferation, self-renewing, and, to an even greater extent, migration of NPCs from these two subjects; (ii) The protective effect of the gold-standard antiherpetic drug acyclovir (ACV) varies with viral dose and is incomplete. It is also subject to differences in terms of efficacy of the NPCs derived from these two individuals. These results suggest that the effects of HSV-1 may have on aspects of NPC neurogenesis may vary among individuals, even in the presence of acyclovir, and this may contribute to the heterogeneity of cognitive sequelae across encephalitis survivors. Further analysis of NPC cell lines from a larger number of individuals is warranted.

Insight into the establishment and maintenance of HIV-1 infection in resting CD4+ T cell subsets is critical for the development of therapeutics targeting the HIV-1 reservoir. Although the frequency of HIV-1 infection, as quantified by the frequency of HIV-1 DNA, is lower in CD4+ naive T cells (TN) than in the memory T cell subsets, recent studies have shown that TN harbor a large pool of replication-competent virus. Interestingly, however, TN are highly resistant to direct (cis) HIV-1 infection in vitro, in particular to R5-tropic HIV-1, as TN do not express CCR5. In this study, we investigated whether TN could be efficiently HIV-1 trans infected by professional antigen-presenting B lymphocytes and myeloid dendritic cells (DC) in the absence of global T cell activation. We found that B cells, but not DC, have a unique ability to efficiently trans infect TNin vitro In contrast, both B cells and DC mediated HIV-1 trans infection of memory and activated CD4+ T cells. Moreover, we found that TN isolated from HIV-1-infected nonprogressors (NP) harbor significantly disproportionately lower levels of HIV-1 DNA than TN isolated from progressors. This is consistent with our previous finding that antigen-presenting cells (APC) derived from NP do not efficiently trans infect CD4+ T cells due to alterations in APC cholesterol metabolism and cell membrane lipid raft organization. These findings support that B cell-mediated trans infection of TN with HIV-1 has a more profound role than previously considered in establishing the viral reservoir and control of HIV-1 disease progression.IMPORTANCE The latent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) reservoir in persons on antiretroviral therapy (ART) represents a major barrier to a cure. Although most studies have focused on the HIV-1 reservoir in the memory T cell subset, replication-competent HIV-1 has been isolated from TN, and CCR5-tropic HIV-1 has been recovered from CCR5neg TN from ART-suppressed HIV-1-infected individuals. In this study, we showed that CCR5neg TN are efficiently trans infected with R5-tropic HIV-1 by B lymphocytes, but not by myeloid dendritic cells. Furthermore, we found that TN isolated from NP harbor no or significantly fewer copies of HIV-1 DNA than those from ART-suppressed progressors. These findings support that B cell-mediated trans infection of TN with HIV-1 has a more profound role than previously considered in establishing the viral reservoir and control of HIV-1 disease progression. Understanding the establishment and maintenance of the HIV-1 latent reservoir is fundamental for the design of effective treatments for viral eradication.

Background: During early HIV-1 infection, immunodominant T cell responses to highly variable epitopes lead to the establishment of immune escape virus variants. Here we assessed a type 1-polarized monocyte-derived dendritic cell (MDC1)-based approach to selectively elicit cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses against highly conserved and topologically important HIV-1 epitopes in HIV-1-infected individuals from the Thailand RV254/SEARCH 010 cohort who initiated antiretroviral therapy (ART) during early infection (Fiebig stages I-IV). Methods: Autologous MDC1 were used as antigen presenting cells to induce in vitro CTL responses against HIV-1 Gag, Pol, Env, and Nef as determined by flow cytometry and ELISpot assay. Ultra-conserved or topologically important antigens were respectively identified using the Epigraph tool and a structure-based network analysis approach and compared to overlapping peptides spanning the Gag proteome. Findings: MDC1 presenting either the overlapping Gag, Epigraph, or Network 14–21mer peptide pools consistently activated and expanded HIV-1-specific T cells to epitopes identified at the 9–13mer peptide level. Interestingly, some CTL responses occurred outside known or expected HLA associations, providing evidence of new HLA-associated CTL epitopes. Comparative analyses demonstrated more sequence conservation among Epigraph antigens but a higher magnitude of CTL responses to Network and Gag peptide groups. Importantly, CTL responses against topologically constrained Gag epitopes contained in both the Network and Gag peptide pools were selectively enhanced in the Network pool-initiated cultures. Interpretation: Our study supports the use of MDC1 as a therapeutic strategy to induce and focus CTL responses toward putative fitness-constrained regions of HIV-1 to prevent immune escape and control HIV-1 infection. Funding: A full list of the funding sources is detailed in the Acknowledgment section of the manuscript.

The synthesis of a lead anti-viral cyclopropyl carboxy acyl hydrazone 4F17 (5) and three sequential arrays of structural analogues along with the initial assessment and optimization of the antiviral pharmacophore against the herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) are reported.

AbstractDuring early HIV Infection, immunodominant T cell responses to highly variable epitopes lead to the selection and expansion of immune escape variants. As a potential therapeutic strategy, we assessed a specialized type 1-polarized monocyte-derived DC dendritic cell (MDC1)-based approach to selectively elicit functional CD8+cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) responses against highly conserved and topologically important HIV epitopes. Cells were obtained from 10 HIV-infected individuals in the Thailand RV254/SEARH010 cohort who initiated suppressive anti-retroviral therapy (ART) during Fiebig stages I to IV of early infection. Autologous MDC1 were generated for use as peptide antigen presenting cells to induceex vivoCTL responses against HIV Gag, Pol, Env and Nef. Ultra-conserved (Epigraph) or topologically important (Network) antigens were respectively identified using the Epigraph tool and a structure-based network analysis approach, and each compared to overlapping peptides spanning the entire Gag proteome. MDC1 loaded with either overlapping Gag, Epigraph, or Network 14-21mer peptide pools were consistently capable of activating and expanding HIV-specific T cells to epitopes identified at the 9-13mer peptide level. Some CTL responses occurred outside of known or expected HLA associations, providing evidence of new HLA-associated CTL epitopes. Comparative analyses of peptide pools demonstrated more sequence conservation among the Epigraph antigens, but statistically higher magnitude of CTL responses to Network and Gag peptide groups. Importantly, when select Gag antigens used to initiate the cultures were part of the Network peptide pool, CTL responses directed against these topologically important epitopes were enhanced as compared to when they were included within the complete pool of overlapping Gag peptides. Our study supports that MDC1 can be used to effectively focus CTL responses toward potentially fitness-constrained regions of HIV as a therapeutic strategy to prevent HIV immune escape and control viral replication.Author summaryA major hurdle in the development of a successful HIV immunotherapy is the capacity of the virus to evade the immune response by efficiently establishing epitope variants in response to selective pressure. While effective at suppressing viremia, current regimens of antiretroviral therapy (ART) are not curative. Therefore, achieving immune control of HIV upon cessation of ART as a functional cure, similar to that observed in ‘elite controllers’ (EC), has been a major therapeutic goal. Such immune control is realized through the actions of antigen-specific cytotoxic T cell lymphocytes (CTL) capable of specifically targeting sequence-conserved epitopes in HIV. In this study, a specialized, antigen presenting, dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine strategy was used to elicit HIV specific CTL responsesin vitroagainst carefully selected, ultra-conserved and topologically important epitopes. This DC-based approach yielded broad responses against peptide epitopes of both known and unknown HLA-associations, the latter of which implies the uncovering of potentially novel epitopes. Importantly, we demonstrate that CTL responses can be re-directed or focused toward potentially more fitness-constrained regions of the virus, thus highlighting the potential for DC-based therapies to induce immune responses that circumvent the issue of viral escape.

A variety of neurological disorders including neurodegenerative diseases and infection by neurotropic viruses can cause structural and functional changes in the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in long-term neurological sequelae. An improved understanding of the pathogenesis of these disorders is important for developing efficacious interventions. Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) offer an extraordinary window for modeling pathogen-CNS interactions, and other cellular interactions, in three-dimensional (3D) neuronal cultures that can recapitulate several aspects of in vivo brain tissue.

ABSTRACT The predominant types of dendritic cells (DC) in the skin and mucosa are Langerhans cells (LC) and interstitial dermal DC (iDDC). LC and iDDC process cutaneous antigens and migrate out of the skin and mucosa to the draining lymph nodes to present antigens to T and B cells. Because of the strategic location of LC and iDDC and the ability of these cells to capture and process pathogens, we hypothesized that they could be infected with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) (Kaposi's sarcoma [KS]-associated herpesvirus) and have an important role in the development of KS. We have previously shown that HHV-8 enters monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MDDC) through DC-SIGN, resulting in nonproductive infection. Here we show that LC and iDDC generated from pluripotent cord blood CD34+ cell precursors support productive infection with HHV-8. Anti-DC-SIGN monoclonal antibody (MAb) inhibited HHV-8 infection of iDDC, as shown by low expression levels of viral proteins and DNA. In contrast, blocking of both langerin and the receptor protein tyrosine kinase ephrin A2 was required to inhibit HHV-8 infection of LC. Infection with HHV-8 did not alter the cell surface expression of langerin on LC but downregulated the expression of DC-SIGN on iDDC, as we previously reported for MDDC. HHV-8-infected LC and iDDC had a reduced ability to stimulate allogeneic CD4+ T cells in the mixed-lymphocyte reaction. These results indicate that HHV-8 can target both LC and iDDC for productive infection via different receptors and alter their function, supporting their potential role in HHV-8 pathogenesis and KS. IMPORTANCE Here we show that HHV-8, a DNA tumor virus that causes Kaposi's sarcoma, infects three types of dendritic cells: monocyte-derived dendritic cells, Langerhans cells, and interstitial dermal dendritic cells. We show that different receptors are used by this virus to infect these cells. DC-SIGN is a major receptor for infection of both monocyte-derived dendritic cells and interstitial dermal dendritic cells, yet the virus fully replicates only in the latter. HHV-8 uses langerin and the ephrin A2 receptor to infect Langerhans cells, which support full HHV-8 lytic replication. This infection of Langerhans cells and interstitial dermal dendritic cells results in an impaired ability to stimulate CD4+ helper T cell responses. Taken together, our data show that HHV-8 utilizes alternate receptors to differentially infect and replicate in these tissue-resident DC and support the hypothesis that these cells play an important role in HHV-8 infection and pathogenesis.

Acyclovir (ACV) and its derivatives have been highly effective for treating recurrent, lytic infections with Herpes Simplex Virus, type 1 (HSV-1), but searches for additional antiviral drugs are motivated by recent reports of resistance to ACV, particularly among immunocompromised patients. In addition, the relative neurotoxicity of ACV and its inability to prevent neurological sequelae among HSV-1 encephalitis survivors compel searches for new drugs to treat HSV-1 infections of the central nervous system (CNS). Primary drug screens for neurotropic viruses like HSV-1 typically utilize non-neuronal cell lines, but they may miss drugs that have neuron specific antiviral effects. Therefore, we compared the effects of a panel of conventional and novel anti-herpetic compounds in monkey epithelial (Vero) cells, human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs)-derived neural progenitor cells (NPCs) and hiPSC-derived neurons (N = 73 drugs). While the profiles of activity for the majority of the drugs were similar in all three tissues, Vero cells were less likely than NPCs to identify drugs with substantial inhibitory activity in hiPSC-derived neurons. We discuss the relative merits of each cell type for antiviral drug screens against neuronal infections with HSV-1.

We assessed CD8+ T cell reactivity to human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8; Kaposi's sarcoma [KS]-associated herpesvirus) and the role of CD4+CD25hiFoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Treg) in HHV-8- and HIV-coinfected participants of the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study who did or did not develop KS. There were similarly low CD8+ T cell interferon-γ responses to MHC class I-restricted epitopes of HHV-8 lytic and latent proteins over 5.7 years before KS in participants who developed KS compared to those who did not. T cell reactivity to HHV-8 antigens was low relative to responses to a combination of cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus and influenza A virus (CEF) peptide epitopes, and dominant HIV peptide epitopes. There was no change in %Treg in the HHV-8- and HIV-coinfected participants who did not develop KS, whereas there was a significant increase in %Treg in HHV-8- and HIV-coinfected participants who developed KS beginning 1.8 years before development of KS. Removal of Treg enhanced HHV-8-specific T cell responses in HHV-8- and HIV-coinfected participants who did or did not develop KS, with a similar pattern observed in response to CEF and HIV peptides. Thus, long-term, low levels of anti-HHV-8 CD8+ T cell reactivity were present in both HHV-8- and HIV-coinfected men who did and did not develop KS. This was related to moderately enhanced Treg function.

The discovery of antiviral activity of 2,3-disubstituted quinazolinones, prepared by a one-pot, three-component condensation of isatoic anhydride with amines and aldehydes, against Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV)-1 is reported. Sequential iterative synthesis/antiviral assessment allowed structure-activity relationship (SAR) generation revealing synergistic structural features required for potent anti-HSV-1 activity. The most potent derivatives show greater efficacy than acyclovir against acute HSV-1 infections in neurons and minimal toxicity to the host.

ABSTRACT Curing HIV-1 infection will require elimination of persistent cellular reservoirs that harbor latent virus in the face of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Proposed immunotherapeutic strategies to cure HIV-1 infection include enhancing lysis of these infected cells by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). A major challenge in this strategy is overcoming viral immune escape variants that have evaded host immune control. Here we report that naive CD8+ T cells from chronic HIV-1-infected participants on long-term cART can be primed by dendritic cells (DC). These DC must be mature, produce high levels of interleukin 12p70 (IL-12p70), be responsive to CD40 ligand (CD40L), and be loaded with inactivated, autologous HIV-1. These DC-primed CD8+ T cell responders produced high levels of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) in response to a broad range of both conserved and variable regions of Gag and effectively killed CD4+ T cell targets that were either infected with the autologous latent reservoir-associated virus or loaded with autologous Gag peptides. In contrast, HIV-1-specific memory CD8+ T cells stimulated with autologous HIV-1-loaded DC produced IFN-γ in response to a narrow range of conserved and variable Gag peptides compared to the primed T cells and most notably, displayed significantly lower cytolytic function. Our findings highlight the need to selectively induce new HIV-1-specific CTL from naive precursors while avoiding activation of existing, dysfunctional memory T cells in potential curative immunotherapeutic strategies for HIV-1 infection. IMPORTANCE Current immunotherapeutic approaches aim to enhance antiviral immunity against the HIV-1 reservoir; however, it has yet to be shown whether T cells from persons on cART can recognize and eliminate virus-infected cells. We show that in persons on cART a personalized medicine approach using their dendritic cells to stimulate their naive T cells induces potent effector CTL in vitro that recognize and eradicate HIV-1-infected CD4+ T cells. Additionally, we show that the same stimulation of existing memory T cells results in cytokine secretion but limited effector function. Our study demonstrates that the naive T cell repertoire can recognize persistent HIV-1 during cART and supports immunotherapy strategies for an HIV-1 cure that targets naive T cells, rather than existing, dysfunctional, memory T cells.

The Amaryllidaceae alkaloid trans-dihydrolycoricidine 7 and three analogues 8-10 were produced via asymmetric chemical synthesis. Alkaloid 7 proved superior to acyclovir, the current standard for herpes simplex virus, type 1 (HSV-1) infection. Compound 7 potently inhibited lytic HSV-1 infection, significantly reduced HSV-1 reactivation, and more potently inhibited varicella zoster virus (VZV) lytic infection. A configurationally defined (3R)-secondary alcohol at C3 proved crucial for efficacious inhibition of lytic HSV-1 infection.

Background: The “kick and kill” strategy for the cure of chronic HIV-1 infection involves unmasking cells harboring the latent viral reservoir followed by their immune elimination. We hypothesize that a broad priming of de novo rather than memory HIV-1 specific CTL will be required to effectively target the autologous HIV-1 reservoir, and that this “kill” can be best achieved using specifically programmed type-1 dendritic cells (DC1).Methods: Mature, IL-12p70 producing DC1 were generated using a combination of either TNFa, IL-1b, poly IC, IFNa and IFNg, or CD40L and IFNg. Mature, IL-12 deficient DC were generated using either a combination of TNFa, IL-1b, IL-6 and PGE2, or CD40L alone. CD8+ T cells were purified from HIV-1 negative donors, and both naive (primary) and memory CD8+ T cells were isolated from HIV-1 infected Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study participants who were on virus-suppressive cART for …

Herpesvirus infections cause considerable morbidity and mortality through lifelong recurrent cycles of lytic and latent infection in several tissues, including the human nervous system. Acyclovir (ACV) and its prodrug, the current antivirals of choice for herpes simplex virus (HSV) and, to some extent, varicella zoster virus (VZV) infections are nucleoside analogues that inhibit viral DNA replication. Rising viral resistance and the need for more effective second-line drugs have motivated searches for additional antiviral agents, particularly non-nucleoside based agents. We evaluated the antiviral activity of five compounds with predicted lysosomotropic activity using conventional and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neuronal (iPSC-neurons) cultures. Their potency and toxicity were compared with ACV and the lysosomotropic agents chloroquine and bafilomycin A1. Out of five compounds tested, micromolar concentrations of 30N12, 16F19, and 4F17 showed antiviral activity comparable to ACV (50μM) during lytic herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infections, reduced viral DNA copy number, and reduced selected HSV-1 protein levels. These compounds also inhibited the reactivation of 'quiescent' HSV-1 infection established in iPSC-neurons, but did not inhibit viral entry into host cells. The same compounds had greater potency than ACV against lytic VZV infection; they also inhibited replication of human cytomegalovirus. The anti-herpetic effects of these non-nucleoside agents merit further evaluation in vivo.

ABSTRACT Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is an unusual neoplasia wherein the tumor consists primarily of endothelial cells infected with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8; Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus) that are not fully transformed but are instead driven to excess proliferation by inflammatory and angiogenic factors. This oncogenic process has been postulated but unproven to depend on a paracrine effect of an abnormal excess of host cytokines and chemokines produced by HHV-8-infected B lymphocytes. Using newly developed measures for intracellular detection of lytic cycle proteins and expression of cytokines and chemokines, we show that HHV-8 targets a range of naive B cell, IgM memory B cell, and plasma cell-like populations for infection and induction of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha, macrophage inhibitory protein 1α, macrophage inhibitory protein 1β, and interleukin-8 in vitro and in the blood of HHV-8/HIV-1-coinfected subjects with KS. These B cell lineage subsets that support HHV-8 infection are highly polyfunctional, producing combinations of 2 to 5 of these cytokines and chemokines, with greater numbers in the blood of subjects with KS than in those without KS. Our study provides a new paradigm of B cell polyfunctionality and supports a key role for B cell-derived cytokines and chemokines produced during HHV-8 infection in the development of KS. IMPORTANCE Kaposi’s sarcoma (KS) is the most common cancer in HIV-1-infected persons and is caused by one of only 7 human cancer viruses, i.e., human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8). It is unclear how this virus causes neoplastic transformation. Development and outgrowth of endothelial cell lesions characteristic of KS are hypothesized to be dependent on virus replication and multiple immune mediators produced by the KS cells and inflammatory cells, yet the roles of these viral and cell factors have not been defined. The present study advances our understanding of KS in that it supports a central role for HHV-8 infection of B cells inducing multiple cytokines and chemokines that can drive development of the cancer. Notably, HIV-1-infected individuals who developed KS had greater numbers of such HHV-8-infected, polyfunctional B cells across a range of B cell phenotypic lineages than did HHV-8-infected persons without KS. This intriguing production of polyfunctional immune mediators by B cells serves as a new paradigm for B cell function and classification.

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-based technologies offer an unprecedented opportunity to perform high-throughput screening of novel drugs for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases. Such screenings require a robust and scalable method for generating large numbers of mature, differentiated neuronal cells. Currently available methods based on differentiation of embryoid bodies (EBs) or directed differentiation of adherent culture systems are either expensive or are not scalable. We developed a protocol for large-scale generation of neuronal stem cells (NSCs)/early neural progenitor cells (eNPCs) and their differentiation into neurons. Our scalable protocol allows robust and cost-effective generation of NSCs/eNPCs from iPSCs. Following culture in neurobasal medium supplemented with B27 and BDNF, NSCs/eNPCs differentiate predominantly into vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (VGLUT1) positive neurons. Targeted mass spectrometry analysis demonstrates that iPSC-derived neurons express ligand-gated channels and other synaptic proteins and whole-cell patch-clamp experiments indicate that these channels are functional. The robust and cost-effective differentiation protocol described here for large-scale generation of NSCs/eNPCs and their differentiation into neurons paves the way for automated high-throughput screening of drugs for neurological and neurodegenerative diseases.

Abstract Class I Human Leukocyte Antigens reveal intracellular viruses to the immune system by presenting viral epitopes at the cell surface. In this study we hypothesized that during infection particular HLA class I alleles consistently present more virus-derived peptide ligands to virus-specific CD8+ T cells than do other HLA class I. To test this hypothesis, we infected cells with West Nile virus (WNV) and directly identified and enumerated the virus specific peptides presented by various HLA class I molecules. Cells expressing a number of different HLA-A and HLA-B class I were cultured in bioreactors and infected with WNV. HLA/peptide complexes were harvested from infected and uninfected cells, peptides were eluted from affinity-purified HLA, comparatively mapped by mass spectroscopy, and sequenced. Twenty-four peptides, 20 eluted from HLA-A complexes (HLA-A*02:01, A*01:01, A*11:01 and A*24:02) and 4 from HLA-B complexes (HLA-B*27:05, B*07:02 and B*35:01), were identified as unique to infected cells. Ligands represented different parts of the viral polyprotein demonstrating that peptides sampled by class I HLA are distributed widely throughout the WNV proteome. These data indicate that, in WNV-infected cells, HLA-A present more virus-specific peptides than do HLA-B suggesting a potentially different role for HLA class I loci in developing immune responses that control WNV infection whereby HLA-A is responsible for diverse reactivity and HLA-B leads to more focused immunity.