Abstract
Enterovirus-induced infection of the central nervous system (CNS) results in acute inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and constitutes a significant global burden to human health. These viruses are thought to be highly cytolytic, therefore normal brain function could be greatly compromised following enteroviral infection of the CNS. A further layer of complexity is added by evidence showing that some enteroviruses may establish a persistent infection within the CNS and eventually lead to pathogenesis of certain neurodegenerative disorders. Interestingly, enterovirus encephalitis is particularly common among young children, suggesting a potential causal link between the development of the neuroimmune system and enteroviral neuroinvasion. Although the CNS involvement in enterovirus infections is a relatively rare complication, it represents a serious underlying cause of mortality. Here we review a selection of enteroviruses that infect the CNS and discuss recent advances in the characterization of these enteroviruses with regard to their routes of CNS infection, tropism, virulence, and immune responses.
Highlights
Enterovirus and EncephalitisEnterovirus-induced infection of the central nervous system (CNS) results in acute inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and constitutes a significant global burden to human health
Specialty section: This article was submitted to Virology, a section of the journal Frontiers in MicrobiologyReceived: 06 November 2019 Accepted: 04 February 2020 Published: 20 February 2020Citation: Chen B-S, Lee H-C, Lee K-M, Gong Y-N and Shih S-R (2020)Enterovirus and Encephalitis
About 58% of the infected infants and children and 52% of the infected adults diagnosed with meningitis/encephalitis is due to enterovirus
Summary
Enterovirus-induced infection of the central nervous system (CNS) results in acute inflammation of the brain (encephalitis) and constitutes a significant global burden to human health. These viruses are thought to be highly cytolytic, normal brain function could be greatly compromised following enteroviral infection of the CNS. The CNS involvement in enterovirus infections is a relatively rare complication, it represents a serious underlying cause of mortality. We review a selection of enteroviruses that infect the CNS and discuss recent advances in the characterization of these enteroviruses with regard to their routes of CNS infection, tropism, virulence, and immune responses
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