Profiling the successful response to infection with West Nile virus

Individual variations in immune status and function determine responses to infection and contribute to disease severity and outcome. Patients exhibit considerable variation in clinical responses to infection with West Nile virus. We have undertaken a comprehensive characterization of the immune responses of a stratified cohort of patients with a history of West Nile virus infection to identify key mechanisms of resistance and susceptibility. We provide molecular profiles of cellular mechanisms of primary human immune cells defined through multifaceted interrogation including multiplexed gene expression analysis integrated with highly sensitive multidimensional flow cytometry. The availability of reliably curated patient cohorts and data-sharing and data mining techniques of high-throughout investigations should accelerate identification of critical elements of immune resistance to important pathogens Differential gene expression by human PBMCs and macrophages from asymptomatic and severe patients with WNV infection or Poly I:C were generated by microarray.