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Immune-Mediated Control of a Dormant Neurotropic RNA Virus Infection

pattismith

Senior Member
Messages
3,946
@Hip
this one is for you.

2019 Sep 15.
Immune-Mediated Control of a Dormant Neurotropic RNA Virus Infection.
Miller KD1,2, Matullo CM2, Milora KA1, Williams RM2, O'Regan KJ2, Rall GF3,2.
Author information
1Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.2Blood Cell Development and Function Program, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.3Program in Cell and Molecular Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA glenn.rall@fccc.edu.


Abstract
Genomic material from many neurotropic RNA viruses (e.g., measles virus [MV], West Nile virus [WNV], Sindbis virus [SV], rabies virus [RV], and influenza A virus [IAV]) remains detectable in the mouse brain parenchyma long after resolution of the acute infection.

The presence of these RNAs in the absence of overt central nervous system (CNS) disease has led to the suggestion that they are viral remnants, with little or no potential to reactivate.

Here we show that MV RNA remains detectable in permissive mouse neurons long after challenge with MV and, moreover, that immunosuppression can cause RNA and protein synthesis to rebound, triggering neuropathogenesis months after acute viral control. Robust recrudescence of viral transcription and protein synthesis occurs after experimental depletion of cells of the adaptive immune response and is associated with a loss of T resident memory (Trm) lymphocytes within the brain.

The disease associated with loss of immune control is distinct from that seen during the acute infection: immune cell-depleted, long-term-infected mice display severe gait and motor problems, in contrast to the wasting and lethal disease that occur during acute infection of immunodeficient hosts.

These results illuminate the potential consequences of noncytolytic, immune-mediated viral control in the CNS and demonstrate that what were once considered "resolved" RNA viral infections may, in fact, induce diseases later in life that are distinct from those caused by acute infection.

IMPORTANCE Viral infections of neurons are often not cytopathic; thus, once-infected neurons survive, and viral RNAs can be detected long after apparent viral control.

These RNAs are generally considered viral fossils, unlikely to contribute to central nervous system (CNS) disease.

Using a mouse model of measles virus (MV) neuronal infection, we show that MV RNA is maintained in the CNS of infected mice long after acute control and in the absence of overt disease.

Viral replication is suppressed by the adaptive immune response; when these immune cells are depleted, viral protein synthesis recurs, inducing a CNS disease that is distinct from that observed during acute infection.

The studies presented here provide the basis for understanding how persistent RNA infections in the CNS are controlled by the host immune response, as well as the pathogenic consequences of noncytolytic viral control.


Copyright © 2019 American Society for Microbiology.
 

borko2100

Senior Member
Messages
160
Isn't it possible that the increased neuroinflammation that Younger found is due to such a virus? I don't know why the virus angle isn't pursued further these days, especially consdering these and Younger's findings.
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,874
Isn't it possible that the increased neuroinflammation that Younger found is due to such a virus? I don't know why the virus angle isn't pursued further these days, especially consdering these and Younger's findings.

Highly probable I would say. Trouble with trying to detect enterovirus infection in the brain tissue is that you need brain tissue samples to test, and those are only available post-mortem.
 
Last edited:

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,874
Have you made any recent additions to your page on natural EV antivirals?

Yes, a few more additions. But I also learnt the rudiments of pharmacokinetics, which then allowed me to calculate whether any of those compounds that were shown antiviral for enterovirus in vitro would have any antiviral effects in vivo, when the compound was taken orally. It turns out that the vast majority have no useful antiviral effect in vivo.
 

pattismith

Senior Member
Messages
3,946
@Hip

Instead sampling brain to find enterovirus, why not looking for CSF anti-enterovirus antibodies?
Intrathecal antibodies testing have shown to be a better tool than PCR in some diseases.

Even in acute herpes encephalitis, PCR has shown to fail in some cases:

A Fatal Case of Herpes Simplex Encephalitis with Two False-Negative Polymerase Chain Reactions.

Intrathecal synthesis of specific antibodies as a marker of herpes simplex encephalitis in patients with negative PCR:

"Although HSV PCRs were negative, acyclovir (15 mg/kg tid intravenously) was prescribed for 3 weeks because the clinical signs, electroencephalogram and Magnetic resonance imaging strongly suggested HSE and other aetiologies (bacteria, other viruses, etc) were ruled out. Nevertheless, this prescription was called into question and we searched for intrathecal synthesis of specific anti-HSV IgG in the CSF.
For this method we measured, for each patient, albumin by immunonephelometry (Dade Behring BNII) and anti-HSV specific IgG using the quantitative αmethod Enzygnost Anti-HSV IgG (Behring, Germany) in serum and CSF sample don the same day. The IS of specific antibodies was then evidenced by the use of Tibbling-Link calculation (table 2). With this proof of specific IS of IgG against HSV , antiviral treatment was maintained and the patients’ condition improved. All patients recovered from neurological signs."
 

Hip

Senior Member
Messages
17,874
Instead sampling brain to find enterovirus, why not looking for CSF anti-enterovirus antibodies?
Intrathecal antibodies testing have shown to be a better tool than PCR in some diseases.

I don't know enough about intrathecal antibodies to answer this, but two points spring to mind:

Firstly I imagine it's possible intrathecal antibodies might be present even when there are no infections in the brain, when the infection is only in the body. In which case, if this is true, then the detection of intrathecal antibodies would not prove the infection is in the brain.

Secondly it's also possible that these intrathecal antibodies would be hard to detect in the case of enterovirus infection. Even for regular antibodies, most antibody blood tests are not able to detect enterovirus antibodies in chronic infections; it's only the sensitive neutralization antibody test which can detect enterovirus antibodies in chronic infection.

But this is just guessing, as I don't know enough about antibodies in the cerebrospinal fluid.


I found two ME/CFS papers where they found enterovirus in the CSF:
Prevalence in the Cerebrospinal Fluid of the Following Infectious Agents in a Cohort of 12 CFS Subjects: Human Herpes Virus-6 and 8; Chlamydia Species; Mycoplasma Species; EBV; CMV; and Coxsackievirus

Encephalomyelitis Resembling Benign Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

I don't think Dr Chia tests the CSF, so there must be a reason for that.
 

pattismith

Senior Member
Messages
3,946
@Hip,

I wish there would be more investigations on intrathecal antibodies in ME.
They were extensive researches in Multiple Sclerosis, and they found an intrathecal antibodies signature.

"It has long been known that the majority of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) display an intrathecal, polyspecific humoral immune response to a broad panel of neurotropic viruses. This response has measles virus, rubella virus and varicella zoster virus as its most frequent constituents and is thus referred to as the MRZ reaction (MRZR)."

This result doesn't mean that these virus are causative for MS thought… Here a good article that explains intrathecal antibodies (which I need some time to read and digest!)

https://www.ifcc.org/media/476990/ejifcc2004vol15no3pp082-085.pdf

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