| Literature DB >> 21825120 |
Erin Harberts1, Karen Yao, Jillian E Wohler, Dragan Maric, Joan Ohayon, Robert Henkin, Steven Jacobson.
Abstract
Viruses have been implicated in the development of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and multiple sclerosis. Human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6) is a neurotropic virus that has been associated with a wide variety of neurologic disorders, including encephalitis, mesial temporal lobe epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis. Currently, the route of HHV-6 entry into the CNS is unknown. Using autopsy specimens, we found that the frequency of HHV-6 DNA in the olfactory bulb/tract region was among the highest in the brain regions examined. Given this finding, we investigated whether HHV-6 may infect the CNS via the olfactory pathway. HHV-6 DNA was detected in a total of 52 of 126 (41.3%) nasal mucous samples, showing the nasal cavity is a reservoir for HHV-6. Furthermore, specialized olfactory-ensheathing glial cells located in the nasal cavity were demonstrated to support HHV-6 replication in vitro. Collectively, these results support HHV-6 utilization of the olfactory pathway as a route of entry into the CNS.Entities:
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Year: 2011 PMID： 21825120 PMCID： PMC3158203 DOI： 10.1073/pnas.1105143108
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A ISSN： 0027-8424 Impact factor: 11.205