Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a DNA neurotropic virus, usually establishing latent infections in the trigeminal ganglia followed by periodic reactivations. Although numerous findings suggested potential links between HSV-1 and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a causal relation has not been demonstrated yet. Hence, we set up a model of recurrent HSV-1 infection in mice undergoing repeated cycles of viral reactivation. By virological and molecular analyses we found: i) HSV-1 spreading and replication in different brain regions after thermal stress-induced virus reactivations; ii) accumulation of AD hallmarks including amyloid-β protein, tau hyperphosphorylation, and neuroinflammation markers (astrogliosis, IL-1β and IL-6). Remarkably, the progressive accumulation of AD molecular biomarkers in neocortex and hippocampus of HSV-1 infected mice, triggered by repeated virus reactivations, correlated with increasing cognitive deficits becoming irreversible after seven cycles of reactivation. Collectively, our findings provide evidence that mild and recurrent HSV-1 infections in the central nervous system produce an AD-like phenotype and suggest that they are a risk factor for AD.
Recurrent herpes simplex virus-1 infection induces hallmarks of neurodegeneration and cognitive deficits in mice / De Chiara, Giovanna; Piacentini, Roberto; Fabiani, Marco; Mastrodonato, Alessia; Marcocci, Maria Elena; Limongi, Dolores; Napoletani, Giorgia; Protto, Virginia; Coluccio, Paolo; Celestino, Ignacio; Li Puma, Domenica Donatella; Grassi, Claudio; Palamara, Anna Teresa. - In: PLOS PATHOGENS. - ISSN 1553-7366. - 15:3(2019), pp. 1-30. [10.1371/journal.ppat.1007617]
Recurrent herpes simplex virus-1 infection induces hallmarks of neurodegeneration and cognitive deficits in mice
De Chiara, Giovanna
Primo
;Fabiani, Marco;Marcocci, Maria Elena;Napoletani, Giorgia;Protto, Virginia;Coluccio, Paolo;Celestino, Ignacio;Palamara, Anna TeresaUltimo
2019
Abstract
Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a DNA neurotropic virus, usually establishing latent infections in the trigeminal ganglia followed by periodic reactivations. Although numerous findings suggested potential links between HSV-1 and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), a causal relation has not been demonstrated yet. Hence, we set up a model of recurrent HSV-1 infection in mice undergoing repeated cycles of viral reactivation. By virological and molecular analyses we found: i) HSV-1 spreading and replication in different brain regions after thermal stress-induced virus reactivations; ii) accumulation of AD hallmarks including amyloid-β protein, tau hyperphosphorylation, and neuroinflammation markers (astrogliosis, IL-1β and IL-6). Remarkably, the progressive accumulation of AD molecular biomarkers in neocortex and hippocampus of HSV-1 infected mice, triggered by repeated virus reactivations, correlated with increasing cognitive deficits becoming irreversible after seven cycles of reactivation. Collectively, our findings provide evidence that mild and recurrent HSV-1 infections in the central nervous system produce an AD-like phenotype and suggest that they are a risk factor for AD.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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