Constitutive expression and distinct properties of IFN-epsilon protect the female reproductive tract from Zika virus infection

• Published in: PLoS pathogens 2023-03, Vol.19 (3), p.e1010843-e1010843
• Main Authors: Coldbeck-Shackley, Rosa C, Romeo, Ornella, Rosli, Sarah, Gearing, Linden J, Gould, Jodee A, Lim, San S, Van der Hoek, Kylie H, Eyre, Nicholas S, Shue, Byron, Robertson, Sarah A, Best, Sonja M, Tate, Michelle D, Hertzog, Paul J, Beard, Michael R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Animals; Antibodies; Antiviral activity; Antiviral Agents - pharmacology; Biological response modifiers; Biology and Life Sciences; Cell lines; Disease transmission; Epithelium; Female; Females; Genitalia, Female; Health aspects; Humans; Immune response; Immunologic Factors; Immunology; Immunoregulation; Immunosurveillance; Infection; Infections; Inflammation; Interferon; Interferon-alpha - pharmacology; Ligands; Lymphatic system; Medicine and Health Sciences; Mice; Ovaries; Pathogens; Prevention; Proteins; Reproductive system; Research and Analysis Methods; Spleen; Stat1 protein; Surveillance; Transcriptomes; Uterus; Vagina; Vector-borne diseases; Viral infections; Virus diseases; Viruses; Zika virus; Zika Virus - genetics; Zika Virus Infection; α-Interferon; β-Interferon
• ISSN: 1553-7374; 1553-7366; 1553-7374
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1010843

The immunological surveillance factors controlling vulnerability of the female reproductive tract (FRT) to sexually transmitted viral infections are not well understood. Interferon-epsilon (IFNɛ) is a distinct, immunoregulatory type-I IFN that is constitutively expressed by FRT epithelium and is not induced by pathogens like other antiviral IFNs α, β and λ. We show the necessity of IFNɛ for Zika Virus (ZIKV) protection by: increased susceptibility of IFNɛ-/- mice; their "rescue" by intravaginal recombinant IFNɛ treatment and blockade of protective endogenous IFNɛ by neutralising antibody. Complementary studies in human FRT cell lines showed IFNɛ had potent anti-ZIKV activity, associated with transcriptome responses similar to IFNλ but lacking the proinflammatory gene signature of IFNα. IFNɛ activated STAT1/2 pathways similar to IFNα and λ that were inhibited by ZIKV-encoded non-structural (NS) proteins, but not if IFNε exposure preceded infection. This scenario is provided by the constitutive expression of endogenous IFNε. However, the IFNɛ expression was not inhibited by ZIKV NS proteins despite their ability to antagonise the expression of IFNβ or λ. Thus, the constitutive expression of IFNɛ provides cellular resistance to viral strategies of antagonism and maximises the antiviral activity of the FRT. These results show that the unique spatiotemporal properties of IFNε provides an innate immune surveillance network in the FRT that is a significant barrier to viral infection with important implications for prevention and therapy.