Critical roles of chemokines and cytokines in antiviral innate immune responses during rabies virus infection

Abstract

The innate immune response is the first line of defense against viral invasion and pro-inflammatory chemokines and cytokines have a critical function in the innate immune responses against virus infections. The ability of a rabies virus (RABV) to induce the expression of chemokines and cytokines can lead to viral clearance from the central nervous system (CNS), whereas the ability to evade such expression and activation contributes to virulence and pathogenicity. In this review, the crucial contribution of chemokines/cytokines to clearing RABV from the CNS is discussed, including recruiting leukocytes into the CNS, enhancement of blood brain barrier permeability and activation of various immune cells that are essential for viral clearance. In addition, recombinant RABV expressing cytokines and chemokines can induce elevated innate and adaptive immune responses which result in clearing an established wild-type RABV infection in the CNS.

Keywords

• antiviral|blood brain barrier|chemokines and cytokines|innate immunity|rabies virus