Human three-dimensional engineered neural tissue reveals cellular and molecular events following cytomegalovirus infection.
Cosset ÉLaboratory of Immuno-hematology, Department of Genetic and Laboratory Medicine, Geneva University Hospital, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Pathology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Martinez YDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; BioTalentum Ltd, Gödöllö 2100, Hungary.
Preynat-Seauve OLaboratory of Immuno-hematology, Department of Genetic and Laboratory Medicine, Geneva University Hospital, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Lobrinus JANeuropathology Unit, Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
Tapparel CLaboratory of Virology, Division of Infectious Diseases and Division of Laboratory Medicine, Geneva University Hospital, University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland.
Cordey SLaboratory of Virology, Division of Infectious Diseases and Division of Laboratory Medicine, Geneva University Hospital, University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland.
Peterson HDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Petty TJDepartment of Genetic Medicine and Development, University of Geneva Medical School, Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Geneva, Switzerland.
Colaianna MDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Tieng VDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Tirefort DLaboratory of Immuno-hematology, Department of Genetic and Laboratory Medicine, Geneva University Hospital, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Department of Pathology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Dinnyes ABioTalentum Ltd, Gödöllö 2100, Hungary; Molecular Animal Biotechnology Laboratory, Szent István University, Gödöllö 2100, Hungary.
Dubois-Dauphin MDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Kaiser LLaboratory of Virology, Division of Infectious Diseases and Division of Laboratory Medicine, Geneva University Hospital, University of Geneva Medical School, Geneva, Switzerland.
Krause KHDepartment of Pathology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland. Electronic address: Karl-Heinz.Krause@unige.ch.
English
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the most common cause of congenital infection of the central nervous system (CNS). To overcome the limited access to human neural tissue and stringent species specificity of HCMV, we used engineered neural tissues to: (i) provide a technical advance to mimick features of HCMV infection in a human neural fetal tissue in vitro and (ii) characterize the molecular and cellular phenomenon following HCMV infection in this tissue. Herein, we infected hESC-derived engineered neural tissues (ENTs) whose organization resembles fetal brain. Transcriptome analysis of ENTs demonstrated that HCMV infection displayed features of the infection with the expression of genes involved in lipid metabolism, growth and development, as well as stress and host-response in a time-dependent manner. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that HCMV did not firstly infect neural tubes (i.e. radially organized, proliferating stem cell niches), but rather an adjacent side population of post-mitotic cells expressing nestin, doublecortin, Sox1, musashi and vimentin markers. Importantly, we observe the same tropism in naturally HCMV-infected fetal brain specimens. To the best of our knowledge this system represents the first human brain-like tissue able to provide a more physiologically model for studying HCMV infection.