Laboratory of Neuroendocrinology-Molecular Cell Physiology, Institute of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloška 4, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Celica BIOMEDICAL, Tehnološki park 24, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Int J Mol Sci. 2019 Feb 6;20(3):691. doi: 10.3390/ijms20030691.
Virus infections of the central nervous system (CNS) can manifest in various forms of inflammation, including that of the brain (encephalitis) and spinal cord (myelitis), all of which may have long-lasting deleterious consequences. Although the knowledge of how different viruses affect neural cells is increasing, understanding of the mechanisms by which cells respond to neurotropic viruses remains fragmented. Several virus types have the ability to infect neural tissue, and astrocytes, an abundant and heterogeneous neuroglial cell type and a key element providing CNS homeostasis, are one of the first CNS cell types to get infected. Astrocytes are morphologically closely aligned with neuronal synapses, blood vessels, and ventricle cavities, and thereby have the capacity to functionally interact with neurons and endothelial cells. In this review, we focus on the responses of astrocytes to infection by neurotropic flaviviruses, including tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), Zika virus (ZIKV), West Nile virus (WNV), and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), which have all been confirmed to infect astrocytes and cause multiple CNS defects. Understanding these mechanisms may help design new strategies to better contain and mitigate virus- and astrocyte-dependent neuroinflammation.
病毒对中枢神经系统（CNS）的感染可表现为多种形式的炎症，包括脑（脑炎）和脊髓（脊髓炎）的炎症，所有这些炎症都可能产生持久的有害后果。尽管人们对不同病毒如何影响神经细胞的了解在不断增加，但对细胞如何对亲神经病毒做出反应的机制仍知之甚少。有几种病毒类型具有感染神经组织的能力，而星形胶质细胞是一种丰富且异质的神经胶质细胞类型，是提供中枢神经系统内稳态的关键元素之一，它是最早被感染的中枢神经系统细胞类型之一。星形胶质细胞在形态上与神经元突触、血管和脑室腔紧密排列，因此具有与神经元和内皮细胞进行功能相互作用的能力。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了亲神经黄病毒（如蜱传脑炎病毒（TBEV）、寨卡病毒（ZIKV）、西尼罗河病毒（WNV）和日本脑炎病毒（JEV））感染星形胶质细胞后星形胶质细胞的反应，这些病毒已被证实可感染星形胶质细胞并导致多种中枢神经系统缺陷。了解这些机制可能有助于设计新的策略来更好地控制和减轻病毒和星形胶质细胞依赖的神经炎症。
