Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2025

Mouse Footpad Inoculation Model to Study Viral-Induced Neuroinflammatory Responses
Published on: June 14, 2020
Neurotropic Viruses as Acute and Insidious Drivers of Aging
Angela Rocchi1, Hassen S Wollebo1, Kamel Khalili1
1Center for Neurovirology and Gene Editing, Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Inflammation, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA.
Abstract:
Aging is the result of various compounding stresses that gradually overcome the homeostatic regulation of the cell, resulting in irreversible damage. This manifests as many acute and chronic conditions, the most common of which are neurodegeneration and dementia. Epidemiological studies have shown significant, strong correlations between viral infection and neurodegenerative diseases. This review overlays the characteristics of viral pathogenesis with the hallmarks of aging to discuss how active and latent viruses contribute to aging. Through our contextualization of myriad basic science papers, we offer explanations for premature aging via viral induction of common stress response pathways. Viruses induce many stresses: dysregulated homeostasis by exogenous viral proteins and overwhelmed protein quality control mechanisms, DNA damage through direct integration and epigenetic manipulation, immune-mediated oxidative stress and immune exhaustion, and general energy theft that is amplified in an aging system. Overall, this highlights the long-term importance of vaccines and antivirals in addition to their acute benefits.
More Related Videos
09:23Adult Mouse DRG Explant and Dissociated Cell Models to Investigate Neuroplasticity and Responses to Environmental Insults Including Viral Infection
Published on: March 9, 2018
14:45Analyzing the Parkinson's Disease Mouse Model Induced by Adeno-associated Viral Vectors Encoding Human α-Synuclein
Published on: July 29, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Aging
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Mitochondria
Retrovirus Life Cycles
Retroviruses
Neurogenesis and Regeneration of Nervous Tissue