Plasmacytoid dendritic cells produce type I interferon and reduce viral replication in airway epithelial cells after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Cervantes-Barragan, L.; Vanderheiden, A.; Royer, C. J.; Davis-Gardner, M. E.; Ralfs, P.; Chirkova, T.; Anderson, L. J.; Grakoui, A.; Suthar, M. S.

doi:10.1101/2021.05.12.443948

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2021.05.12.443948

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells produce type I interferon and reduce viral replication in airway epithelial cells after SARS-CoV-2 infection

Cervantes-Barragan, L.·Vanderheiden, A.·Royer, C. J.·Davis-Gardner, M. E.·Ralfs, P.·Chirkova, T.·Anderson, L. J.·Grakoui, A.·Suthar, M. S.

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Abstract

Infection with SARS-CoV-2 has caused a pandemic of unprecedented dimensions. SARS-CoV-2 infects airway and lung cells causing viral pneumonia. The importance of type I interferon (IFN) production for the control of SARS-CoV-2 infection is highlighted by the increased severity of COVID-19 in patients with inborn errors of type I IFN response or auto-antibodies against IFN-. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are a unique immune cell population specialized in recognizing and controlling viral infections through the production of high concentrations of type I IFN. In this study, we isolated pDCs from healthy donors and showed that pDCs are able to recognize SARS-CoV-2 and rapidly produce large amounts of type I IFN. Sensing of SARS-CoV-2 by pDCs was independent of viral replication since pDCs were also able to recognize UV-inactivated SARS-CoV-2 and produce type I IFN. Transcriptional profiling of SARS-CoV-2 and UV-SARS-CoV-2 stimulated pDCs also showed a rapid type I and III IFN response as well as induction of several chemokines, and the induction of apoptosis in pDCs. Moreover, we modeled SARS-CoV-2 infection in the lung using primary human airway epithelial cells (pHAEs) and showed that co-culture of pDCs with SARS-CoV-2 infected pHAEs induces an antiviral response and upregulation of antigen presentation in pHAE cells. Importantly, the presence of pDCs in the co-culture results in control of SARS-CoV-2 replication in pHAEs. Our study identifies pDCs as one of the key cells that can recognize SARS-CoV-2 infection, produce type I and III IFN and control viral replication in infected cells. ImportanceType I interferons (IFNs) are a major part of the innate immune defense against viral infections. The importance of type I interferon (IFN) production for the control of SARS-CoV-2 infection is highlighted by the increased severity of COVID-19 in patients with defects in the type I IFN response. Interestingly, many cells are not able to produce type I IFN after being infected with SARS-CoV-2 and cannot control viral infection. In this study we show that plasmacytoid dendritic cells are able to recognize SARS-CoV-2 and produce type I IFN, and that pDCs are able to help control viral infection in SARS-CoV-2 infected airway epithelial cells.

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Cervantes-Barragan, L., Vanderheiden, A., Royer, C. J., Davis-Gardner, M. E., Ralfs, P., Chirkova, T., Anderson, L. J., Grakoui, A., Suthar, M. S.. 2021-05-13. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells produce type I interferon and reduce viral replication in airway epithelial cells after SARS-CoV-2 infection. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.12.443948

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