Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells as an in vitro model for dengue virus infection

To date, there are no appropriate animal models for the study of the pathophysiology and clinical manifestations of the disease caused by dengue virus infection; therefore, experimental models are required for that purpose. The objective of the present work was to establish a model of in vitro infection with DENV-2. To this end, human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were obtained using a Ficoll gradient, and infected with DENV-2 using a low multiplicity of infection. The cell populations infected and responsible for the production of cytokines were identified using a multiparametric analysis by flow cytometry. As a result, PBMC were permissive to infection that was detected 24 hours after virus inoculation. Additionally, at this same time, CD14+ cells, but not CD3+ or CD19+ cells, were preferentially infected and responsible for the production of TNF-alpha and IL-6. In conclusion, we established a model of in vitro infection using unfractionated PBMC, in which CD14+ cells were identified as the primary target cells for infection with DENV-2, and the production of proinflammatory cytokines.