Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Epilepsia 2019 Feb 15. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences, Urbana, Illinois.

Objective: Viral encephalitis increases the risk for developing seizures and epilepsy. Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (Ido1) is induced by inflammatory cytokines and functions to metabolize tryptophan to kynurenine. Kynurenine can be further metabolized to produce kynurenic acid and the N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor agonist quinolinic acid (QuinA). Read More

J Virol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) cycles between phases of latency in sensory neurons and replication in mucosal sites. HSV-1 encodes two key proteins that antagonize the shutdown of host translation; US11 through preventing PKR activation, and ICP34.5 through mediating eIF2α dephosphorylation. Read More

BMC Pediatr 2019 Feb 13;19(1):59. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Intensive Care Unit, Key Medical Laboratory of Pediatrics, Chongqing Health Bureau, Ministry of Education; Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, People's Republic of China.

Background: Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is an acute viral infection occurring mostly in infants and children. Enterovirus 71 (EV71) infection mostly occurs in children < 5 years of age. Severe cases, however, are usually encountered in children under the age of 3 years, and exceedingly rare in teenagers > 14 years and adults. Read More

J Neurovirol 2019 Feb 13. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Research Center in Infectious Diseases, CHU of Quebec and Laval University, 2705 Boul. Laurier, Quebec City, QC, G1V 4G2, Canada.

The cerebral immune response induced by herpes simplex virus (HSV) encephalitis (HSE) was evaluated in susceptible BALB/c and resistant C57BL/6 mice. BALB/c and C57BL/6 (named C57BL/6-high) mice were respectively infected intranasally with 1 × 10 and 5 × 10 plaque-forming units (PFUs) of HSV-1. C57BL/6 mice (named C57BL/6-low) infected with a low inoculum (1 × 10 PFUs) of HSV-1 were tested in parallel. Read More

Rev Sci Tech 2018 Aug;37(2):729-739

Rabies is one of the oldest recorded pathogens, with the broadest distribution of any known viral zoonosis. Antarctica is believed to be free of all lyssaviruses, but no laboratory-based surveillance has taken place to support this supposition. Re-introduction of the disease is possible in Pacific Oceania, as evidenced by a historical outbreak in Guam and the translocation of rabid bats to Hawaii. Read More

Front Cell Infect Microbiol 2019 28;9. Epub 2019 Jan 28.

Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI), Bern, Switzerland.

Several mosquito-borne Flaviviruses such as Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), West Nile virus (WNV), Dengue Virus (DENV), and Zika virus (ZIKV) can cause severe clinical disease. Being zoonotic, Flaviviruses infect a wide variety of terrestrial vertebrates, which dependent of the virus-host interactions, can enhance ongoing epidemics and maintain the virus in the environment for prolonged periods. Targeted species can vary from amphibians, birds to various mammals, dependent on the virus. Read More

Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi 2019 Feb;53(2):164-168

Department of National Immunization Programme, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100050, China.

To explore acute meningitis and encephalitis syndrome (AMES) surveillance in 4 China prefectures, to understand the epidemiological features and disease burden of () meningitis, () meningitis, haemophilus influenza type b (Hib) meningitis and Japanese encephalitis and provide evidence for related disease prevention and control. AMES surveillance were conducted in Jinan, Shandong Province and Yichang, Hubei Province in September 2006, and in 13 districts of Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province and Guigang City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in April 2007. Six hospitals in each city were selected as monitoring pilot hospitals to carry out reports of suspected cases of acute meningitis and encephalitis, case investigation, blood specimens and cerebrospinal fluid specimen collection, anti-JEV IgM antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, , and Hib culture and polymerase chain reaction detection, etc. Read More

Zhonghua Yu Fang Yi Xue Za Zhi 2019 Feb;53(2):133-135

Department of Viral Encephalitis, National Institute for Viral Disease Control and Prevention, State Key Laboratory of Infectious Disease Prevention and Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 102206, China.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is the important viral encephalitis in China. In the 1940s, JE was confirmed to be epidemic in China. In 1971, the annual incidence rate was 20. Read More

Antiviral Res 2019 Feb 8. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

Center for Bio/molecular Science and Engineering, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC 20375, USA. Electronic address:

The alphaviral nonstructural protein 2 (nsP2) cysteine proteases (EC 3.4.22. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2019 Feb 11;15(2):e1007584. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Center for Vaccine Research, Department of Immunology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA United States of America.

Live attenuated vaccines (LAVs), if sufficiently safe, provide the most potent and durable anti-pathogen responses in vaccinees with single immunizations commonly yielding lifelong immunity. Historically, viral LAVs were derived by blind passage of virulent strains in cultured cells resulting in adaptation to culture and a loss of fitness and disease-causing potential in vivo. Mutations associated with these phenomena have been identified but rarely have specific attenuation mechanisms been ascribed, thereby limiting understanding of the attenuating characteristics of the LAV strain and applicability of the attenuation mechanism to other vaccines. Read More

Nat Commun 2019 Feb 11;10(1):706. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Program in Emerging Infectious Diseases, Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School, Singapore, 169857, Singapore.

Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a leading cause of viral encephalitis. However, the mechanisms of JEV penetration of the blood-brain-barrier (BBB) remain poorly understood. Mast cells (MCs) are granulated innate immune sentinels located perivascularly, including at the BBB. Read More

J Nerv Ment Dis 2019 Feb 6. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Department of Neurology, Department of Neurology and Neuroscience Center, The First Hospital of JiLin University, Changchun, People's Republic of China.

The diagnosis of autoimmune epilepsy is often challenging, and may be misdiagnosed as epileptic disorders or viral encephalitis. Autoimmune epilepsy has a strong association with other autoimmune diseases, especially systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In addition, autoimmune epilepsy was reported to present with complex partial seizure (CPS), simple partial seizure (SPS), and secondarily generalized tonic-clonic seizure (sGTCS). Read More

J Colloid Interface Sci 2019 Feb 4;542:198-206. Epub 2019 Feb 4.

State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, PR China; Key Laboratory of Preventive Veterinary Medicine in Hubei Province, College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, PR China; The Cooperative Innovation Center for Sustainable Pig Production, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei 430070, PR China. Electronic address:

Multiple viruses can cause infection and death of millions annually. Of these, flaviviruses are found to be highly prevalent in recent years with no distinctive antiviral therapies. Therefore, there is a desperate need for broad-spectrum antiviral drugs that can be active against a large number of existing and emerging viruses. Read More

Antiviral Res 2019 Feb 8;164:61-69. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Disease, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA.

Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), a new world alphavirus belonging to the Togaviridae family, causes periodic disease outbreaks in humans and equines with high associated mortality and morbidity. VEEV is highly infectious via the aerosol route and so has been developed as a biological weapon (Hawley and Eitzen, 2001). Despite its current classification as a category B select agent, there are no FDA approved vaccines or therapeutics to counter VEEV infections. Read More

Virology 2019 Jan 30;529:234-245. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

Key Laboratory of Jilin Province for Zoonosis Prevention and Control, Institute of Military Veterinary Medicine, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Changchun, Jilin Province, China; Jiangsu Co-Innovation Center for Prevention and Control of Important Animal Infectious Diseases and Zoonoses, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province, China.

Ticks are medically-important arthropods that maintain and transmit numerous emerging viruses. China suffers severely from tick-borne viral diseases such as tick-borne encephalitis and severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS), but the background of tick-borne viruses is very limited. Here we report the virome profiling of ticks and goat sera from SFTS-epidemic areas, and serological investigation of SFTS virus (SFTSV) and Nairobi sheep disease virus (NSDV). Read More

Virology 2019 Jan 29;529:226-233. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan. Electronic address:

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) was shown to activate protein kinase R (PKR), which inhibits expression of interferon (IFN) and IFN-stimulated genes by controlling the translation of newly transcribed mRNAs. However, it is unknown exactly how HCV activates PKR. To address the molecular mechanism(s) of PKR activation mediated by HCV infection, we examined the effects of viral proteins on PKR activation. Read More

Trop Med Infect Dis 2019 Feb 7;4(1). Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Wildlife Zoonoses and Vector-borne Diseases Research Group, Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), KT15 3NB Weybridge-London, UK.

Bats in the EU have been associated with several zoonotic viral pathogens of significance to both human and animal health. Virus discovery continues to expand the existing understating of virus classification, and the increased interest in bats globally as reservoirs or carriers of zoonotic agents has fuelled the continued detection and characterisation of new lyssaviruses and other viral zoonoses. Although the transmission of lyssaviruses from bat species to humans or terrestrial species appears rare, interest in these viruses remains, through their ability to cause the invariably fatal encephalitis-rabies. Read More

J Neurol Sci 2019 Jan 31;398:176-183. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Division of Hospital Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pinnacle, United States.

Viral meningitis is an inflammation of the meninges associated with acute onset of meningeal symptoms and fever, pleocytosis of the cerebrospinal fluid, and no growth on routine bacterial culture. It is sometimes associated with viral encephalitis and meningoencephalitis. Viruses reach the central nervous system (CNS) hematogenously or in a retrograde manner from nerve endings. Read More

J Virol 2019 Feb 6. Epub 2019 Feb 6.

Center for Host-Pathogen Interaction, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, USA

A clinical isolate of measles virus (MeV) bearing a single amino acid alteration in the viral fusion protein (F; L454W) was previously identified in two patients with lethal sequelae of MeV central nervous system (CNS) infection. The mutation dysregulated the viral fusion machinery so that the mutated F protein mediated cell fusion in the absence of known MeV cellular receptors. While this virus could feasibly have arisen via intra-host evolution of the wildtype (wt) virus, it was recently shown that the same mutation emerged under the selective pressure of small molecule antiviral treatment. Read More

Cell Rep 2019 Feb;26(6):1598-1613.e8

Division of Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA. Electronic address:

Flaviviruses cause systemic or neurotropic-encephalitic pathology in humans. The flavivirus nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) is a secreted glycoprotein involved in viral replication, immune evasion, and vascular leakage during dengue virus infection. However, the contribution of secreted NS1 from related flaviviruses to viral pathogenesis remains unknown. Read More

Front Oncol 2019 22;9. Epub 2019 Jan 22.

Ben and Catherine Ivy Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment, Swedish Neuroscience Institute, Seattle, WA, United States.

Viral encephalitis and glioblastoma are both relatively rare conditions with poor prognoses. While the clinical and radiographic presentations of these diseases are often distinctly different, viral encephalitis can sometimes masquerade as glioblastoma. Rarely, glioblastoma can also be misdiagnosed as viral encephalitis. Read More

Int J STD AIDS 2019 Feb 5:956462418824905. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

3 Pomeranian Hospitals, Gdansk, Poland.

We present the case of a 52-year-old man with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) encephalitis resulting from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) viral escape, to illustrate therapeutic challenges in patients with emergent CSF genotypic HIV drug resistance. This case report highlights the usefulness of CSF HIV-resistance testing to guide antiretroviral therapy and treatment optimizing decisions. Read More

J Infect Dis 2019 Feb 5. Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Centre for Individualized Infection Medicine, Hannover, Germany.

Background: The tryptophan-kynurenine-NAD+ pathway is closely associated with regulation of immune cells toward less inflammatory phenotypes and may exert neuroprotective effects. Investigating its regulation in CNS infections would improve our understanding of pathophysiology and end-organ damage, and, furthermore, open doors to its evaluation as a source of diagnostic and/or prognostic biomarkers.

Methods: We measured concentrations of kynurenine (Kyn) and tryptophan (Trp) in 220 cerebrospinal fluid samples from patients with bacterial and viral (herpes simplex, varicella zoster, enteroviruses) meningitis/encephalitis, neuroborreliosis, autoimmune neuroinflammation (anti-NMDA-R encephalitis, multiple sclerosis), and noninflamed controls (Bell's palsy, normal pressure hydrocephalus, Tourette syndrome). Read More

Vet Res 2019 Feb 4;50(1). Epub 2019 Feb 4.

College of Animal Science and Technology, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530004, Guangxi, People's Republic of China.

As a key cellular transcription factor that plays a central role in cellular responses to a broad range of stress factors, p53 has generally been considered as a host cell restriction factor for various viral infections. However, the defined roles of p53 in pseudorabies virus (PRV) replication, pathogenesis, and host responses remain unclear. In the present study, we initially constructed a p53 overexpressing a porcine kidney epithelial cell line (PK-15) to detect the effect of p53 on PRV replication in vitro. Read More

J Neuroimmunol 2019 Feb 1;330:1-4. Epub 2019 Feb 1.

Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada. Electronic address:

Background: Primary Angiitis of the Central Nervous System (PACNS) is a rare cause of CNS vasculitis that should be included as part complete differential diagnosis, especially in cases with suggestive imaging findings and an absence of secondary causes for CNS vasculitis.

Case Presentation: We describe a case of a 47-year-old previously healthy Caucasian male presenting with rapid progression of encephalopathy and fevers. Extensive infectious, autoimmune, and imaging workups were unrevealing. Read More

Antiviral Res 2019 Jan 31;164:23-51. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Department of Infectious Diseases and Neuroinfections, Medical University of Bialystok, Bialystok, Poland.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an illness caused by tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) infection which is often limited to a febrile illness, but may lead to very aggressive downstream neurological manifestations. The disease is prevalent in forested areas of Europe and northeastern Asia, and is typically caused by infection involving one of three TBEV subtypes, namely the European (TBEV-Eu), the Siberian (TBEV-Sib), or the Far Eastern (TBEV-FE) subtypes. In addition to the three main TBEV subtypes, two other subtypes; i. Read More

Methods Mol Biol 2019 ;1941:225-255

Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, UK.

Immune-mediated inflammation of the brain has been recognized for more than 50 years, although the initial descriptions were mainly thought to be secondary to an underlying neoplasm. Some of these paraneoplastic encephalitides express serum antibodies, but these were not thought to be pathogenic but instead have a T-cell-mediated pathophysiology. Over the last two decades, several pathogenic antibodies against neuronal surface antigens have been described in autoimmune encephalitis, which are amenable to immunotherapy. Read More

J Neuroinflammation 2019 Jan 31;16(1):22. Epub 2019 Jan 31.

Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA.

Background: Microglia are resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS) locally maintained through colony-stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) signaling. Microglial depletion via CSF1R inactivation improves cognition in mouse models of neuroinflammation, but limits virologic control in the CNS of mouse models of neurotropic infections by unknown mechanisms. We hypothesize that CSF1R plays a critical role in myeloid cell responses that restrict viral replication and locally restimulate recruited antiviral T cells within the CNS. Read More

J Cell Biochem 2019 Jan 30. Epub 2019 Jan 30.

Malaria Research Group, Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam, India.

The endothelial cell barrier is tightly regulated, and disruption or the leaky behavior of the barrier leads to pathology. Disturbance of blood-brain barrier is observed during viral infection, cerebral malaria, and acute hemorrhagic encephalitis. Red blood cells (RBCs) bind to the endothelial cells (ECs) and their affinity towards ECs enhances in the presence of Plasmodium falciparum infection. Read More

Antiviral Res 2019 Mar 26;163:125-139. Epub 2019 Jan 26.

National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases, School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA. Electronic address:

The New World alphaviruses, Venezuelan, eastern and western equine encephalitis viruses (VEEV, EEEV, and WEEV), are important human pathogens due to their ability to cause varying levels of morbidity and mortality in humans. There is also concern about VEEV and EEEV being used as bioweapons. Currently, a FDA-approved antiviral is lacking for New World alphaviruses. Read More

Ann Indian Acad Neurol 2019 Jan-Mar;22(1):102-103

Department of Neurology, Kuala Lumpur Hospital, Jalan Pahang, 50586 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Multiple co-infections can predispose a patient to autoimmune encephalitis. Out of thirty cases of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis seen at a single tertiary referral center, only two cases of co-infection with NMDAR encephalitis were identified. One of these cases was highly interesting due to the presence of more than one co-infections along with the presence of cortical dysfunction, seizures, and orofacial dyskinesias at the onset in a male in the absence of tumors, which was refractory to initial treatment. Read More

Vet Pathol 2019 Jan 27:300985818825129. Epub 2019 Jan 27.

6 Department of Veterinary Pathology and Microbiology, Faculty of Applied Biological Science, Gifu University, Gifu, Japan.

Encephalitis in hamsters, which was induced by equine herpesvirus (EHV)-9, EHV-1 strain Ab4p, and zebra-borne EHV-1, was investigated and compared to assess viral kinetics and identify the progression and severity of neuropathological findings. Hamsters were inoculated with EHV-9, EHV-1 strain Ab4p, and zebra-borne EHV-1 via the nasal route and euthanized at 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, and 168 hours postinoculation (HPI). The inoculated hamsters had mild to severe neurological signs at 60 to 72, 96, and 120 HPI, and the mortality rate was 75%, 0%, and 0% for animals inoculated with EHV-9, EHV-1 strain Ab4p, and zebra-borne EHV-1 viruses, respectively. Read More

J Immunol 2019 Jan 25. Epub 2019 Jan 25.

Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 0C7, Canada;

Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE), caused by HSV type 1 (HSV-1) infection, is an acute neuroinflammatory condition of the CNS and remains the most common type of sporadic viral encephalitis worldwide. Studies in humans have shown that susceptibility to HSE depends in part on the genetic make-up of the host, with deleterious mutations in the TLR3/type I IFN axis underlying some cases of childhood HSE. Using an in vivo chemical mutagenesis screen for HSV-1 susceptibility in mice, we identified a susceptible pedigree carrying a causal truncating mutation in the gene ( ), encoding for the NF-κB transcription factor subunit c-Rel. Read More

J Vet Med Sci 2019 Jan 23. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Laboratory of Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), a member of the genus Flavivirus within the family Flaviviridae, causes fatal encephalitis with severe sequelae in humans. TBEV is prevalent over a wide area of the Eurasian continent including Europe, Russia, Far-Eastern Asia, and Japan. While it was previously thought that TBEV was not endemic in Japan, the first confirmed case of serologically diagnosed TBE was reported in 1993 in the southern area of Hokkaido Prefecture, Japan. Read More

PLoS One 2019 23;14(1):e0210971. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Department of Tumor Pathology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan.

Galectin-3 is a β-galactoside-binding lectin which is important in cell proliferation and apoptotic regulation. Recently, serum galectin-3 has been shown to have prognostic value as a biomarker in heart failure. Encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) can cause severe myocarditis, congestive heart failure and dilated cardiomyopathy as well as encephalitis in various animals including mice. Read More

N Engl J Med 2019 Jan;380(4):380-387

From the Departments of Medicine (K.C.Z., R.C.L.), Radiology (R.G.G.), and Pathology (J.A.B.), Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Departments of Medicine (K.C.Z., R.C.L.), Radiology (R.G.G.), and Pathology (J.A.B.), Harvard Medical School - both in Boston.

Ther Apher Dial 2019 Jan 23. Epub 2019 Jan 23.

Department of Nephrology, the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou310006, PR China.

Purpose: This study investigates some clinical characteristics of maintenance hemodialysis patients with new-onset epilepsy.

Methods: Thirty-five patients with new-onset epilepsy who underwent maintenance hemodialysis were selected for study. Sixty patients undergoing routine hemodialysis were selected as the control group. Read More

Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2019 Jan 17;114:e180332. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

Instituto Evandro Chagas, Seção de Arbovirologia e Febres Hemorrágicas, Ananindeua, PA, Brasil.

Background: Serological evidence of West Nile virus (WNV) infection has been reported in different regions of Brazil from equine and human hosts but the virus had never been isolated in the country.

Objectives: We sought to identify the viral etiology of equine encephalitis in Espírito Santo state.

Methods: We performed viral culture in C6/36 cells, molecular detection of WNV genome, histopathology and immunohistochemistry from horse cerebral tissue. Read More

BMC Infect Dis 2019 Jan 22;19(1):80. Epub 2019 Jan 22.

Department of Infectious Diseases, Oslo University Hospital Ullevaal, P. O. Box 4956, Nydalen, N-0450, Oslo, Norway.

Background: Recognizing patients with encephalitis may be challenging. The cardinal symptom, encephalopathy, has a wide array of differential diagnoses. In this prospective study we aimed to explore the etiology of encephalitis and to assess the diagnostic accuracy of symptoms and clinical findings in patients with encephalitis in an encephalopathic population. Read More

Viruses 2019 Jan 21;11(1). Epub 2019 Jan 21.

Research Center of Swine Disease, College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China.

The Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), a causative agent of severe viral encephalitis in humans, has a biological cycle fluctuating between transmission in mosquitoes and avian species and amplification in pigs. Contact transmission of JEV was recently shown in pigs in the absence of arthropod vectors. Here, we show JEV transmission between infected and contact mice and further demonstrate that JEV transmission occurs between animals via aerosols, as both viral RNA and infectious JEV were detected in direct contact- and aerosol-exposed contact animals. Read More

J Med Entomol 2019 Jan 22. Epub 2019 Jan 22.

Arbovirus Diseases Branch, Division of Vector Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, CO.

St. Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) and West Nile virus (WNV) have recently emerged in the southwestern United States. Surveillance for arboviruses in Las Vegas, NV, detected a surge of SLEV activity in the southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus Say) during 2016. Read More

Clin Infect Dis 2019 Jan 19. Epub 2019 Jan 19.

Emory Vaccine Center and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia.

An immunocompetent adult received corticosteroids for chest pain, which later was clinically found to be herpes zoster (HZ). She developed severe disease and rapid viral dissemination that elicited an exceptionally strong varicella zoster virus-specific B-cell and CD8 T-cell response. Clinicians should consider atypical HZ presentation prior to corticosteroid administration. Read More

Acta Neuropathol 2019 Jan 20. Epub 2019 Jan 20.

Department of Neuroimmunology, Center for Brain Research, Medical University of Vienna, Spitalgasse 4, 1090, Vienna, Austria.

Microglia nodule formation is a common feature in inflammatory brain diseases mediated by T lymphocytes such as viral and paraneoplastic encephalitis, multiple sclerosis, and Rasmussen encephalitis (RE). However, its role has not been fully understood yet. We hypothesized that, in RE, microglial nodules provide an environment for the initiation of the later dominating T-cell cytotoxicity. Read More

Curr Clin Microbiol Rep 2018 Dec 3;5(4):229-237. Epub 2018 Aug 3.

Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity, Infectious, Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University, 460 W 12th Ave, Biomedical Research Tower 790, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.

Purpose Of Review: Interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) is a cellular restriction factor that blocks fusion between virus and host membranes. Here, we provide an introduction to IFITM3 and the biochemical regulation underlying its antiviral activity. Further, we analyze and summarize the published literature examining phenotypes of IFITM3 knockout mice upon infections with viral pathogens and discuss the controversial association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the human gene and severe virus infections. Read More

J Neuroinflammation 2019 Jan 19;16(1):13. Epub 2019 Jan 19.

Department of Neurology, Christian-Doppler-Klinik, Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria.

Background: The chemokine CXCL13 is an intensively investigated biomarker in Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB). Its role in other neuroinfections is increasingly recognized but less clear.

Objective: To determine the significance of CXCL13 in established central nervous system (CNS) infections other than LNB by matching cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) CXCL13 elevations with severity of the disease course. Read More

BMC Genomics 2019 Jan 18;20(1):62. Epub 2019 Jan 18.

Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, 48080, Bilbao, Spain.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short endogenous, single-stranded, noncoding small RNA molecules of approximately 22 nucleotides in length. They regulate gene expression posttranscriptionally by silencing mRNA expression, thus orchestrating many physiological processes. The Small Ruminant Lentiviruses (SRLV) group includes the Visna Maedi Virus (VMV) and Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAEV) viruses, which cause a disease in sheep and goats characterized by pneumonia, mastitis, arthritis and encephalitis. Read More

Wellcome Open Res 2018 10;3:44. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, 560065, India.

Mosquito-borne flaviviruses, such as dengue and Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), cause life-threatening diseases, particularly in the tropics. Here we performed unbiased metagenomic sequencing of RNA extracted from the serum of four patients and the plasma of one patient, all hospitalized at a tertiary care centre in South India with severe or prolonged febrile illness, together with the serum from one healthy control, in 2014. We identified and assembled a complete dengue virus type 3 sequence from a case of severe dengue fever. Read More

Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2019 Jan 17. Epub 2019 Jan 17.

VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston MA and the Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry.

Aim: To improve early recognition of anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis (anti-NMDArE) in children and adolescents by identifying characteristic temporal patterns of clinical features in patients likely to be referred for psychiatric evaluation. In this form of autoimmune encephalitis, NMDAr hypofunction is caused by autoantibodies to receptor surface components. Clinical outcomes following prompt immunotherapy are usually good, but delayed treatment often results in a protracted course with significant residual disability or death. Read More

Arch Argent Pediatr 2019 02;117(1):e47-e51

Departamento de Radiología Pediátrica, Hospital de Formación e Investigación Materno Infantil Dr. Sami Ulus, Angora, Turquía.

Herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) is the most common cause of sporadic focal encephalitis worldwide. Acyclovir is the treatment of choice of HSE since the 1980s. After the widespread use of acyclovir, HSE related mortality rate had reduced but resistant strains emerged. Read More

Virology 2019 Jan 6;529:23-28. Epub 2019 Jan 6.

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA. Electronic address:

Herpes simplex virus (HSV)- 1 is the most common cause of sporadic viral encephalitis and accounts for 5-10% of cases worldwide. A key factor in host control of viral infection is the initiation of the interferon (IFN) response, mediated in part by the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway. In these studies, we examined the ability of 5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid (DMXAA), a STING agonist, to protect against HSV-1 infection. Read More