Susceptibilities of CNS Cells towards Rabies Virus Infection Is Linked to Cellular Innate Immune Responses.

ABSTRACT: Rabies is caused by neurotropic rabies virus (RABV), contributing to 60,000 human deaths annually. Even though rabies leads to major public health concerns worldwide, we still do not fully understand factors determining RABV tropism and why glial cells are unable to clear RABV from the infected brain. Here, we compare susceptibilities and immune responses of CNS cell types to infection with two RABV strains, Tha and its attenuated variant Th2P-4M, mutated on phospho- (P-protein) and matrix protein (M-protein). We demonstrate that RABV replicates in human stem cell-derived neurons and astrocytes but fails to infect human iPSC-derived microglia. Additionally, we observed major differences in transcription profiles and quantification of intracellular protein levels between antiviral immune re

SUBMITTER: Feige L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9860954 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature