Fig. 6
From: Sublethal enteroviral infection exacerbates disease progression in an ALS mouse model
Schematic summary of mechanisms that enteroviral infection exacerbates disease phenotype in an ALS mouse model. Sublethal infection of enteroviruses, such as CVB3 modelled in this study, promotes early onset and progression of ALS-like phenotype, and decreases the lifespan of mice in SOD1G85R ALS mouse model. This exacerbation is associated with at least three molecular and pathological phenotypes induced by CVB3 infection: (1) direct tissue damages or neuronal cell death, (2) dysregulated immune responses, and (3) TDP-43 pathologies. It appears that sublethal viral infection alone is not sufficient to provoke ALS-like phenotypes in C57BL/6J mice. However, together with SOD1G85R-mediated toxicities (e.g., increase proinflammatory response, oxidative stress, protein aggregates and neuronal cell death), viral infection accelerates disease progression and reduces mouse lifespan in SOD1G85R ALS mice