Varicella zoster virus differentially alters morphology and suppresses proinflammatory cytokines in primary human spinal cord and hippocampal astrocytes.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Varicella zoster virus (VZV) is a ubiquitous alphaherpesvirus that produces varicella and zoster. VZV can infect multiple cell types in the spinal cord and brain, including astrocytes, producing myelopathy and encephalopathy. While studies of VZV-astrocyte interactions are sparse, a recent report showed that quiescent primary human spinal cord astrocytes (qHA-sps) did not appear activated morphologically during VZV infection. Since astrocytes play a critical role in host defenses during viral infections of the central nervous system, we examined the cytokine responses of qHA-sps and quiescent primary human hippocampal astrocytes (qHA-hps) to VZV infection in vitro, as well as the ability of conditioned supernatant to recruit immune cells.

Methods

At 3 days post-in

SUBMITTER: Bubak AN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6236967 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature