Routes of inoculation and the immune response to a resolving genital flavivirus infection in a novel murine model

The prolonged, abnormal immune response patterns produced by many sexually transmitted viruses have been intensively studied. Because normal antiviral immune responses in the vagina are less well-defined, we developed a resolving murine model using vaginal inoculation with the flavivirus, West Nile virus. Infection resulted in 12% mortality, with sterile protective immunity to vaginal or systemic re-challenge. B-cell numbers increased in the vaginal mucosa from day 1-7 after primary infection, while similar increases in B220(+), CD4(+) and CD8(+) lymphocytes in the draining lymph node were delayed by 48 h. By day 4 postinfection, a MHC-II+ dendritic cell population became depleted from the stroma and formed aggregates below the basement membrane at points of demonstrable epithelial infection. In contrast, primary systemic or intradermal inoculation resulted in 80-90% mortality, but also conferred protective sterile immunity to vaginal West Nile virus re-challenge. Intravaginal and intradermal immunization elicited comparable, accelerated accumulation of larger B-cell numbers in the mucosa and draining lymph node upon intravaginal re-challenge than systemic immunization. However, accumulation of CD4(+) T cells in both sites in the intradermally immunized group was significantly greater than in intravaginally or systemically immunized mice. Accelerated accumulation of dendritic cells occurred at periodic sub-basement membrane sites in the absence of detectable virus 1 day after vaginal re-challenge, irrespective of the route of immunization. These data illustrate the diversity of possible effective immune responses to West Nile virus in the vaginal mucosa. They show primary vaginal inoculation produces effective immunity to flavivirus infection with lower mortality than other routes and suggest a local role for vaginal mucosal dendritic cells in both primary and secondary responses.