Targeting TNF-α against dengue virus-induced neurotoxicity and acute viral encephalitis-like symptoms

Abstract

Abstract Pro-inflammatory tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) facilitates dengue virus (DENV) infection in endovascular dysfunction and neurotoxicity. The introduction of TNF-α blocking therapy with antibodies and antagonists is performed for testing its therapeutic effects in this study. In DENV-infected mice, TNF-α was produced in the brains accompanied by the progression of neurotoxicity and encephalitis. DENV infection caused loss in hippocampal neurons with TNF-α expression around the damaged regions. Additionally, immunostaining showed the induction of apoptosis in hippocampal neurons. TNF-α was expressed in active microglia as well as astrocytes of DENV-infected mice. TNF-α facilitated DENV-induced neurotoxicity in vitro in murine Neuro-2a cells. By using a currently established encephalitic mice model that DENV infection caused progressive hunchback posture, limbic seizures, limbic weakness, paralysis, and lethality 7 days post-infection, TNF-α transgenic mice represented the progressive disease development while administration of neutralizing TNF-α antibody reduced dengue encephalitis and mortality. These results demonstrate an immunopathogenesis of TNF-α for mediating DENV-induced encephalitis-associated neurotoxicity and targeting TNF-α can be used as a strategy against dengue encephalitis.