Mosquito-borne viruses are delivered into the skin, but the local state of that skin is often overlooked.
We show that prior UV exposure can condition the inoculation site to enhance virus replication, viraemia, dissemination and disease in mouse models incorporating mosquito biting.
We also find that UV-exposed skin becomes warmer and increases mosquito probing.
Together, the work links environmental exposure, skin tissue state, vector behaviour and viral pathogenesis, and suggests UV exposure may be a modifiable factor in vector-borne disease risk.
Mechanistically, UV does not simply suppress antiviral immunity.
Instead, susceptibility changes over time: early after UV, recruited CCR2-dependent myeloid cells amplify infection; later, during repair, infection shifts toward fibroblasts linked to a glycolytic stromal programme.
Thanks to all our collaborators and authors including @yoncakeskekturk.bsky.social @daniellaandrea.bsky.social @brevenstyden.bsky.social on bluesky.
Happy to share new preprint is now on bioRxiv:
"Ultraviolet exposure conditions skin to enhance arbovirus infection and mosquito probing"
Led by our then PhD student now Dr. @ailishmccafferty.bsky.social this work asks how UV-exposed skin shapes mosquito-borne virus infection. (1/4)
Clive McKimmie
Clive McKimmie
Clive McKimmie
Clive McKimmie
Clive McKimmie
Clive McKimmie
The ISG Atlas: a loss-of-function analysis characterizes antiviral properties of interferon stimulated genes
www.nature.com/articles/s41... @natcomms.nature.com
Waggoner Lab
Next virtual seminar is with Dr María Mora González López Ledesma, Fundación Instituto Leloir, Argentina.
She’ll discuss: “Dissecting NS5-mediated immune evasion across the four dengue virus serotypes”, exploring how dengue NS5 shapes antiviral immunity.
All welcome! Message us for the ZOOM link.
