Abstract
After primary exposure, the human parvovirus B19 (B19V) genome may remain in the central nervous system (CNS), establishing a lifelong latency. The structural characteristics and functions of the infected cells are essential for the virus to complete its life cycle. Although B19V has been detected in the brain tissue by sequencing PCR products, little is known about its in vivo cell tropism and pathogenic potential in the CNS. To detect B19V and investigate the distribution of its target cells in the CNS, we studied brain autopsies of elderly subjects using molecular virology, and optical and electron microscopy methods. Our study detected B19V in brain tissue samples from both encephalopathy and control groups, suggesting virus persistence within the CNS throughout the host’s lifetime. It appears that within the CNS, the main target of B19V is oligodendrocytes. The greatest number of B19V-positive oligodendrocytes was found in the white matter of the frontal lobe. The number was significantly lower in the gray matter of the frontal lobe (p = 0.008) and the gray and white matter of the temporal lobes (p < 0.0001). The morphological changes observed in the encephalopathy group, propose a possible B19V involvement in the demyelination process.
Highlights
Due to increasing lifespan, the number of people suffering from neurological diseases in industrialized countries grows constantly
Brain tissue samples from the frontal and temporal cortex, and subcortical white matter selected from 24 elderly people with an unspecified encephalopathy (UEP) (mean age 63.9; 12 males and 8 females) and 24 age-matched controls (mean age 61.4; 16 males and 1 female) were used in accordance with the diagnostic criteria for UEP described in a previous study [25]
Our observations revealed the expression of the B19V protein in endothelial and activated microglial/macrophage cells of the frontal and temporal lobes
Summary
The number of people suffering from neurological diseases in industrialized countries grows constantly. The aging of the human immune system is a continuous and active process involving mechanisms initiated by the response to infectious factors [1]. Infectious agents are often implicated in the development of neurological disorders, and human parvovirus B19 (B19V). In addition to active infection causing tissue damage, many viruses have the ability to persist in the host cells in a latent state. This is typical of B19V, which usually remains quiescent in the host after primary exposure in early childhood and, affects a high percentage of the human population. The viral genome persists in various organs, including the central nervous system (CNS) [7]. Increasingly more studies report B19V-associated clinical syndromes with CNS manifestations, such as myalgic encephalomyelitis, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, encephalitis, encephalopathy, or meningoencephalitis, both in immunocompetent and immunosuppressed patents [3,8,9,10,11,12]
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