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Updated: Mar 22, 2026

Live Imaging of the Mitochondrial Glutathione Redox State in Primary Neurons using a Ratiometric Indicator
Published on: October 20, 2021
Redox Imbalance and Viral Infections in Neurodegenerative Diseases
Dolores Limongi1, Sara Baldelli1
1Università Telematica San Raffaele Roma, Via di Val Cannuta, 00167 Rome, Italy.
Abstract:
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are essential molecules for many physiological functions and act as second messengers in a large variety of tissues. An imbalance in the production and elimination of ROS is associated with human diseases including neurodegenerative disorders. In the last years the notion that neurodegenerative diseases are accompanied by chronic viral infections, which may result in an increase of neurodegenerative diseases progression, emerged. It is known in literature that enhanced viral infection risk, observed during neurodegeneration, is partly due to the increase of ROS accumulation in brain cells. However, the molecular mechanisms of viral infection, occurring during the progression of neurodegeneration, remain unclear. In this review, we discuss the recent knowledge regarding the role of influenza, herpes simplex virus type-1, and retroviruses infection in ROS/RNS-mediated Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
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