Case-Control Study of the Immune Status of Humans Infected With Zoonotic Gorilla Simian Foamy Viruses.

Abstract

Zoonotic simian foamy viruses (SFVs) establish persistent infections in humans, for whom the long-term consequences for health are poorly described. In this study, we aimed to characterize blood-cell phenotypes and plasma biomarkers associated with gorilla SFV infection in humans. We used a case-control design to compare 15 Cameroonian hunters infected with gorilla SFV (cases) to 15 controls matched for age and ethnicity. A flow cytometry-based phenotypic study and quantification of plasma immune biomarkers were carried out on blood samples from all participants. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare cases and controls. Cases had a significantly higher percentage of CD8 T lymphocytes than controls (median, 17.6% vs 13.7%; P = .03) but similar levels of B, natural killer, and CD4 T lymphocytes. Cases also had a lower proportion of recent CD4 thymic emigrants (10.9% vs 18.6%, P = .05), a higher proportion of programmed death receptor 1 (PD-1) expressing memory CD4 T lymphocytes (31.7% vs 24.7%, P = .01), and higher plasma levels of the soluble CD163 scavenger receptor (0.84 vs .59 µg/mL, P = .003) than controls. We show, for the first time, that chronic infection with SFV is associated with T lymphocyte differentiation and monocyte activation.