Mosquito immune cells enhance dengue and Zika virus infection in Aedes aegypti

David R. Hall, Rebecca M. Johnson, Hyeogsun Kwon, Zannatul Ferdous, S. Viridiana Laredo-Tiscareño, Bradley J. Blitvich, Doug E. Brackney and Ryan C. Smith ()
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David R. Hall: Iowa State University
Rebecca M. Johnson: The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Hyeogsun Kwon: Iowa State University
Zannatul Ferdous: The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
S. Viridiana Laredo-Tiscareño: Iowa State University
Bradley J. Blitvich: Iowa State University
Doug E. Brackney: The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station
Ryan C. Smith: Iowa State University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Mosquito-borne arboviruses cause more than 400 million annual infections, yet despite their public health importance, the mechanisms by which arboviruses infect and disseminate in the mosquito host are not well understood. Here, we provide evidence that dengue virus and Zika virus actively infect Aedes aegypti hemocytes and demonstrate, through phagocyte depletion, that hemocytes facilitate virus infection to peripheral tissues including the ovaries and salivary glands. Adoptive transfer experiments further reveal that virus-infected hemocytes efficiently confer virus infection to naïve recipient mosquitoes. Together, these data support a model of arbovirus dissemination where infected hemocytes enhance virus infection of mosquito tissues required for transmission, which parallels vertebrate systems where immune cell populations promote virus dissemination. This study significantly advances our understanding of virus infection dynamics in the mosquito host and highlights potential conserved roles of immune cells in arbovirus infection across vertebrate and invertebrate systems.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61139-9

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