Lung pathology due to hRSV infection impairs blood-brain barrier permeability enabling astrocyte infection and a long-lasting inflammation in the CNS.

Lung pathology due to hRSV infection impairs blood-brain barrier permeability enabling astrocyte infection and a long-lasting inflammation in the CNS. Brain Behav Immun. 2020 Sep 23;: Authors: Bohmwald K, Soto JA, Andrade C, Fernández-Fierro A, Espinoza JA, Ríos M, Eugenin EA, González PA, Opazo MC, Riedel CA, Kalergis AM Abstract The human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) is the most common infectious agent that affects children before two years of age. hRSV outbreaks cause a significant increase in hospitalizations during the winter season associated with bronchiolitis and pneumonia. Recently, neurologic alterations have been associated with hRSV infection in children, which include seizures, central apnea, and encephalopathy. Also, hRSV RNA has been detected in cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) from patients with neurological symptoms after hRSV infection. Additionally, previous studies have shown that hRSV can be detected in the lungs and brains of mice exposed to the virus, yet the potential effects of hRSV infection within the central nervous system (CNS) remain unknown. Here, using a murine model for hRSV infection, we show a significant behavior alteration in these animals, up to two months after the virus exposure, as shown in marble-burying tests. hRSV infection also produced the expression of cytokines within the brain, such as IL-4, IL-10, and CCL2. We found that hRSV infection alters the permeability of the blood-brain bar...
Source: Brain, Behavior, and Immunity - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Brain Behav Immun Source Type: research