Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026

A Murine Model of Dengue Virus-induced Acute Viral Encephalitis-like Disease
Published on: April 28, 2019
Cellular inflammatory response to flaviviruses in the central nervous system of a primate host
Olga A Maximova1, Lawrence J Faucette, Jerrold M Ward
1Laboratory of Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Bethesda, MD 20892-3203, USA. maximovao@niaid.nih.gov
Abstract:
Flaviviruses such as tick-borne encephalitis virus, Japanese encephalitis virus, West Nile virus, and St. Louis encephalitis virus are important neurotropic human pathogens, typically causing a devastating and often fatal neuroinfection. Flaviviruses induce neuroinflammation with typical features of viral encephalitides, including inflammatory cell infiltration, activation of microglia, and neuronal degeneration. Development of safe and effective live-virus vaccines against neurotropic flavivirus infections demands a detailed knowledge of their neuropathogenesis in a primate host that is evolutionarily close to humans. Here, we used computerized morphometric analysis to quantitatively assess the cellular inflammatory responses in the central nervous system (CNS) of rhesus monkeys infected with three antigenically divergent attenuated flaviviruses. The kinetics, spatial pattern, and magnitude of microglial activation, trafficking of T and B cells, and changes in T cell subsets within the CNS define unique phenotypic signatures for each of the three viruses. Our results provide a benchmark for investigation of cellular inflammatory responses induced by attenuated flaviviruses in the CNS of primate hosts and provide insight into the neuropathogenesis of flavivirus encephalitis that might guide the development of safe and effective live-virus vaccines.
Related Concept Videos
Arboviral Encephalitis
Immune Response Against Viral Pathogens
NK Cells
NK cells are a crucial part of our innate immune system, acting as the first line of defense against viral infections. These cells can recognize and kill infected cells without prior exposure to the virus, effectively slowing down the spread of infection. Additionally, NK cells produce proinflammatory...
Rabies
Encephalitis ll: Pathophysiology
Viral Meningitis
Yellow Fever

