Journal
VIRAL IMMUNOLOGY
Volume 32, Issue 1, Pages 38-47Publisher
MARY ANN LIEBERT, INC
DOI: 10.1089/vim.2018.0075
Keywords
West Nile virus; alpha-synuclein; encephalitis
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Funding
- VA Merit [I01BX003863]
- DOD Medical Investigator Initiated Research Award [PRMRP PR160117]
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West Nile virus (WNV) is a single-stranded RNA flavivirus and is a major cause of viral encephalitis worldwide. Experimental models of WNV infection in mice are commonly used to define acute neuroinflammatory responses in the brain. Alpha-synuclein (Asyn) is a protein of primarily neuronal origin and is a major cause of Parkinson's disease (PD), a disorder characterized by loss of dopaminergic neurons. Both WNV and PD pathologies are largely mediated by inflammation of the central nervous system (neuroinflammation) and have overlapping inflammatory pathways. In this review, we highlight the roles of the immune system in both diseases while comparing and contrasting both protective and pathogenic roles of immune cells and their effector proteins. Additionally, we review the current literature showing that Asyn is an important mediator of the immune response with diverging roles in PD (pathogenic) and WNV disease (neuroprotective).
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