Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Laboratory Affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, 00185 Rome, Italy.
Department of Neuroscience, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Rome, Italy; Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, 00168 Italy.
Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2022 Apr;63:102200. doi: 10.1016/j.coph.2022.102200. Epub 2022 Mar 8.
Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) is a ubiquitous DNA virus able to establish a life-long latent infection in host sensory ganglia. Following periodic reactivations, the neovirions usually target the site of primary infection causing recurrent diseases in susceptible individuals. However, reactivated HSV-1 may also reach the brain resulting in severe herpetic encephalitis or in asymptomatic infections. These have been reportedly linked to neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), suggesting antiviral preventive or/therapeutic treatments as possible strategies to counteract AD onset and progression. Here, we provide an overview of the AD-like mechanisms driven by HSV-1-infection in neurons and discuss the ongoing trials repurposing anti-herpetic drugs to treat AD as well as preventive strategies aimed at blocking virus infection.
单纯疱疹病毒 1 型（HSV-1）是一种普遍存在的 DNA 病毒，能够在宿主感觉神经节中建立终身潜伏感染。在周期性的再激活后，新形成的病毒通常会靶向原发感染部位，导致易感个体的复发性疾病。然而，再激活的 HSV-1 也可能到达大脑，导致严重的疱疹性脑炎或无症状感染。据报道，这些与神经退行性疾病有关，如阿尔茨海默病（AD），这表明抗病毒预防或/治疗可能是对抗 AD 发病和进展的策略。在这里，我们概述了由神经元中的 HSV-1 感染引起的类似 AD 的机制，并讨论了正在进行的重新利用抗疱疹药物治疗 AD 的试验以及旨在阻断病毒感染的预防策略。
