BACKGROUND: The recent Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak has linked ZIKV with microcephaly and other central nervous system pathologies in humans. Astrocytes are among the first cells to respond to ZIKV infection in the brain and are also targets for virus infection. In this study, we investigated the interaction between ZIKV and primary human brain cortical astrocytes (HBCA). RESULTS: HBCAs were highly sensitive to representatives of both Asian and African ZIKV lineages and produced high viral yields. The infection was associated with limited immune cytokine/chemokine response activation; the highest increase of expression, following infection, was seen in CXCL-10 (IP-10), interleukin-6, 8, 12, and CCL5 (RANTES). Ultrastructural changes in the ZIKV-infected HBCA were characterized by electron tomography (ET). ET reconstructions elucidated high-resolution 3D images of the proliferating and extensively rearranged endoplasmic reticulum (ER) containing viral particles and virus-induced vesicles, tightly juxtaposed to collapsed ER cisternae. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm that human astrocytes are sensitive to ZIKV infection and could be a source of proinflammatory cytokines in the ZIKV-infected brain tissue.
- MeSH
- astrocyty virologie MeSH
- cytokiny metabolismus MeSH
- endoplazmatické retikulum virologie MeSH
- infekce virem zika virologie MeSH
- kultivované buňky MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- mozek virologie MeSH
- virus zika patogenita MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), a disease caused by tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), represents the most important flaviviral neural infection in Europe and north-eastern Asia. In the central nervous system (CNS), neurons are the primary target for TBEV infection; however, infection of non-neuronal CNS cells, such as astrocytes, is not well understood. In this study, we investigated the interaction between TBEV and primary human astrocytes. We report for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, that primary human astrocytes are sensitive to TBEV infection, although the infection did not affect their viability. The infection induced a marked increase in the expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein, a marker of astrocyte activation. In addition, expression of matrix metalloproteinase 9 and several key pro-inflammatory cytokines/chemokines (e.g. tumour necrosis factor α, interferon α, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, interferon γ-induced protein 10, macrophage inflammatory protein, but not monocyte chemotactic protein 1) was upregulated. Moreover, we present a detailed description of morphological changes in TBEV-infected cells, as investigated using three-dimensional electron tomography. Several novel ultrastructural changes were observed, including the formation of unique tubule-like structures of 17.9 ±0.15 nm diameter with associated viral particles and/or virus-induced vesicles and located in the rough endoplasmic reticulum of the TBEV-infected cells. This is the first demonstration that TBEV infection activates primary human astrocytes. The infected astrocytes might be a potential source of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the TBEV-infected brain, and might contribute to the TBEV-induced neurotoxicity and blood-brain barrier breakdown that occurs during TBE. The neuropathological significance of our observations is also discussed.
- MeSH
- astrocyty patologie fyziologie virologie MeSH
- cytokiny genetika metabolismus MeSH
- drsné endoplazmatické retikulum patologie MeSH
- gliový fibrilární kyselý protein biosyntéza MeSH
- interakce hostitele a patogenu MeSH
- klíšťová encefalitida etiologie patologie patofyziologie MeSH
- kultivované buňky MeSH
- lidé MeSH
- matrixová metaloproteinasa 9 biosyntéza MeSH
- replikace viru MeSH
- transmisní elektronová mikroskopie MeSH
- upregulace MeSH
- viry klíšťové encefalitidy patogenita fyziologie MeSH
- zobrazování trojrozměrné MeSH
- Check Tag
- lidé MeSH
- Publikační typ
- časopisecké články MeSH
- práce podpořená grantem MeSH
