Dengue tropism for macrophages and dendritic cells: the host cell effect.

Dengue virus infects immune cells, including monocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells (DC). We compared virus infectivity in macrophages and DC, and found that the virus origin determined the cell tropism of progeny virus. The highest efficiency of re-infection was seen for macrophage-derived dengue virus. Furthermore, in the presence of enhancing antibodies, macrophage-derived virus gave greater enhancement of infection compared with immature DC-derived virus. Taken together, our results highlight the importance of macrophages in dengue infection.