Comparative analysis of serum antibody responses and immune landscapes in patients with acute DENV-1, DENV-2, and Chikungunya virus infections
5 affiliations
- 1Shenzhen Nanshan Center for Disease Control and Prevention
- 2School of Public Health (Shenzhen), Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Pathogenic Microbes and Biosafety, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University
- 3Key Laboratory of Tropical Disease Control (Sun Yat-sen University), Ministry of Education
- 4Beijing Research Center for Respiratory Infectious Diseases
- 5Key Laboratory of Pathogen Infection Prevention and Control (MOE), State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Health and Multimorbidity, National Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College
Abstract
Introduction: Dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) are major mosquito-borne arboviruses that increasingly co-circulate in tropical and subtropical regions, including southern China. However, the extent to which these viruses induce shared or distinct host immune responses remains poorly understood. This study aimed to comparatively characterize immune responses during acute DENV-1, DENV-2, and CHIKV infections.
Materials and methods: A total of 80 serum samples were analyzed, including 65 samples from patients with laboratory-confirmed DENV-1 (n = 29), DENV-2 (n = 10), or CHIKV (n = 26) infections and 15 healthy controls.Viral RNA was detected by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Virus-specific IgM and IgG responses were measured by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, and serum cytokines were quantified using a multiplex assay. Group comparisons used nonparametric tests, and associations among antibody responses, cytokine concentrations, and viral RNA levels were assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation. Multiple comparisons were adjusted using the Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) procedure.
Results: The three infections shared features of interferon-associated immune activation and relatively restrained systemic inflammation but exhibited distinct immune mediator profiles, characterized by differential inflammatory mediator and growth factor responses. After multiple-testing correction, cytokine–cytokine correlation analysis revealed both shared and infection-specific patterns of immune mediator covariation, with shared associations involving IL-9, TNF-β, CCL4, and CXCL1 across all three infection groups. Positive associations between pathogen-specific IgM responses and Ct values were observed across the infections, although the association was not statistically significant for DENV-2 after multiple-testing correction. IgG responses showed a similar association only in DENV-1 infection. Integration of cytokine and antibody profiles further revealed distinct immune association patterns: DENV-1 showed broader associations involving viral RNA levels, inflammatory mediators, and humoral responses, whereas CHIKV displayed a more restricted pattern centered on associations between inflammatory mediators and IgM responses.
Discussion: These findings reveal shared and distinct immune responses during acute DENV-1, DENV-2, and CHIKV infections and provide a comparative framework for investigating virus-associated immune regulation during acute arboviral infections.
Related
- Variant-specific and cross-reactive antibody responses following COVID-19 booster vaccinations and SARS-CoV-2 breakthrough infections
- Utility of Blood Neutrophil to Diagnose Bacterial Infections under Satralizumab Treatment for Aquaporin-4 Antibody-positive Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder: A Report of Two Cases
- Antibody boosting and short-term durability following SARS-CoV-2 infections in United States longitudinal cohorts, 2020-2024
- Clinical characteristics of bloodstream infections in the patients receiving anti-IL-6 receptor antibody
- Post-treatment serologic, cerebrospinal fluid, MRI, and salivary antibody responses in HIV-negative neurosyphilis: a retrospective study
BibTeX
@article{zhang2026comparative,
title = {{Comparative analysis of serum antibody responses and immune landscapes in patients with acute DENV-1, DENV-2, and Chikungunya virus infections}},
author = {Ying Zhang and Shengze Zhang and Longyu Zou and Haolu Zha and Weijian Tian and Pengjie Ma and Yachao Zuo and Caijun Sun and Yuelong Shu and Jianhui Yuan and Yanping Ma and Huanle Luo and Nan Wu},
journal = {Frontiers in Immunology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fimmu.2026.1948489},
url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1948489/full},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Comparative analysis of serum antibody responses and immune landscapes in patients with acute DENV-1, DENV-2, and Chikungunya virus infections
AU - Ying Zhang
AU - Shengze Zhang
AU - Longyu Zou
AU - Haolu Zha
AU - Weijian Tian
AU - Pengjie Ma
AU - Yachao Zuo
AU - Caijun Sun
AU - Yuelong Shu
AU - Jianhui Yuan
AU - Yanping Ma
AU - Huanle Luo
AU - Nan Wu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/28
JO - Frontiers in Immunology
DO - 10.3389/fimmu.2026.1948489
UR - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1948489/full
AB - Introduction: Dengue virus (DENV) and chikungunya virus (CHIKV) are major mosquito-borne arboviruses that increasingly co-circulate in tropical and subtropical regions, including southern China. However, the extent to which these viruses induce shared or distinct host immune responses remains poorly understood. This study aimed to comparatively characterize immune responses during acute DENV-1, DENV-2, and CHIKV infections. Materials and methods: A total of 80 serum samples were analyzed, including 65 samples from patients with laboratory-confirmed DENV-1 (n = 29), DENV-2 (n = 10), or CHIKV (n = 26) infections and 15 healthy controls.Viral RNA was detected by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Virus-specific IgM and IgG responses were measured by Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay, and serum cytokines were quantified using a multiplex assay. Group comparisons used nonparametric tests, and associations among antibody responses, cytokine concentrations, and viral RNA levels were assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation. Multiple comparisons were adjusted using the Benjamini-Hochberg (BH) procedure. Results: The three infections shared features of interferon-associated immune activation and relatively restrained systemic inflammation but exhibited distinct immune mediator profiles, characterized by differential inflammatory mediator and growth factor responses. After multiple-testing correction, cytokine–cytokine correlation analysis revealed both shared and infection-specific patterns of immune mediator covariation, with shared associations involving IL-9, TNF-β, CCL4, and CXCL1 across all three infection groups. Positive associations between pathogen-specific IgM responses and Ct values were observed across the infections, although the association was not statistically significant for DENV-2 after multiple-testing correction. IgG responses showed a similar association only in DENV-1 infection. Integration of cytokine and antibody profiles further revealed distinct immune association patterns: DENV-1 showed broader associations involving viral RNA levels, inflammatory mediators, and humoral responses, whereas CHIKV displayed a more restricted pattern centered on associations between inflammatory mediators and IgM responses. Discussion: These findings reveal shared and distinct immune responses during acute DENV-1, DENV-2, and CHIKV infections and provide a comparative framework for investigating virus-associated immune regulation during acute arboviral infections.
SN - 1664-3224
ER -