Desforges Marc, Le Coupanec Alain, Brison Élodie, Meessen-Pinard Mathieu, Talbot Pierre J
INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, laboratoire de neuroimmunovirologie, 531, boulevard des Prairies, H7V 1B7 Laval (Québec), Canada.
Virologie (Montrouge). 2014 Feb 1;18(1):5-16. doi: 10.1684/vir.2014.0544.
In humans, viral infections of the respiratory tract are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Among the various respiratory viruses, coronaviruses are important ubiquitous pathogens of humans and animals. Since the late 1960's, human coronaviruses (HCoV) are recognized pathogens of the upper respiratory tract, being mainly associated with mild pathologies such as the common cold. However, in vulnerable populations, (newborns, infants, the elderly and immune-compromised individuals), they can affect the lower respiratory tract, leading to pneumonia, exacerbations of asthma, respiratory distress syndrome or even severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). For almost three decades now, the scientific literature has also demonstrated that HCoV are neuroinvasive and neurotropic: neurons are often the target cell in the central nervous system (CNS), inducing neurodegeneration and eventually death. Moreover, HCoV can contribute to an overactivation of the immune system that could lead to autoimmunity in the CNS of susceptible individuals. Given all these properties, it has been suggested that HCoV could be associated with the triggering or the exacerbation of human neurological diseases for which the etiology remains unknown or poorly understood.
在人类中，呼吸道病毒感染是全球发病和死亡的主要原因。在各种呼吸道病毒中，冠状病毒是人和动物中重要的普遍存在的病原体。自20世纪60年代末以来，人类冠状病毒（HCoV）被认为是上呼吸道的病原体，主要与普通感冒等轻度病症相关。然而，在弱势群体（新生儿、婴儿、老年人和免疫功能低下的个体）中，它们可影响下呼吸道，导致肺炎、哮喘加重、呼吸窘迫综合征甚至严重急性呼吸综合征（SARS）。近三十年来，科学文献也表明HCoV具有神经侵袭性和嗜神经性：神经元通常是中枢神经系统（CNS）中的靶细胞，可诱导神经退行性变并最终导致死亡。此外，HCoV可导致免疫系统过度激活，这可能导致易感个体中枢神经系统中的自身免疫。鉴于所有这些特性，有人提出HCoV可能与病因仍不明或了解甚少的人类神经疾病的触发或加重有关。
