Herpesviridae , Neurodegenerative Disorders and Autoimmune Diseases: What Is the Relationship between Them?

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 16; no. 1; p. 133
• Main Author: De Francesco, Maria Antonia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 17.01.2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Adaptive immunity; Alzheimer's disease; Antigens; Antiviral agents; Apolipoproteins; autoimmune; Autoimmune Diseases; Autophagy; Axons; Brain research; Cell activation; Central nervous system; Cognitive ability; Cytokines; Cytomegalovirus; Dementia; Disease; Environmental factors; Genetic factors; Genomes; Health risk assessment; Herpes viruses; Herpesviridae; herpesviruses; Homeostasis; Humans; Infections; Inflammation; Inflammatory diseases; Kinases; Movement disorders; Multiple Sclerosis; Mutation; Myelin; Nervous system; Neurodegeneration; neurodegenerative; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurogenesis; Parkinson's disease; Pathogenesis; Peptides; Proteins; Review; Sjogren's Syndrome; Spinal cord; Systemic lupus erythematosus; Vaccination; Viral infections; autoimmune; herpesviruses; neurodegenerative
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v16010133

Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease represent the most common forms of cognitive impairment. Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system responsible for severe disability. An aberrant immune response is the cause of myelin destruction that covers axons in the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Systemic lupus erythematosus is an autoimmune disease characterized by alteration of B cell activation, while Sjögren's syndrome is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease characterized by altered immune responses. The etiology of all these diseases is very complex, including an interrelationship between genetic factors, principally immune associated genes, and environmental factors such as infectious agents. However, neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases share proinflammatory signatures and a perturbation of adaptive immunity that might be influenced by herpesviruses. Therefore, they might play a critical role in the disease pathogenesis. The aim of this review was to summarize the principal findings that link herpesviruses to both neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases; moreover, briefly underlining the potential therapeutic approach of virus vaccination and antivirals.