Science Sub-Journal: Reveals that IL-21 played a key role in the immune response to neurological viral infections.

12, 2020 /--- In a new study, researchers from research institutions such as Penn State School of Medicine and the University of Utah better understand the role of a protein called leuriocyte mesotin-21 (IL-21) in the immune system's response to neurological infections.
CD4 T cells in the immune system produce IL-21, which is essential for the development of memory cells (tissue-resident-memory cells) that reside in CD8-plus tissues during persistent viral infection in the central nervous system.
this finding supports further exploration of the use of IL-21 as a therapeutic agent to treat persistent central nervous system infections.
study was recently published in the journal Science Immunology under the title "IL-21 from high-affinity CD4 T cells drives derivion of brain-resident CD8 T cells in the persistent viral."
lukacher lab observed T-cells soaked in the brains of mice infected with MuPyV, pictured from Penn State. Dr. Aron Lukacher, co-author of the
paper and head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Penn State School of Medicine, said the findings suggest that IL-21 is an important factor in an effective immune response to chronic infections of the central nervous system, including neurodegenerative HIV-AIDS and progressive multifocal leukocephalopathy (PML).
PML is a fatal brain infection caused by the JC polyomavirus, whose initial symptoms include clumsiness, weakness, or difficulty speaking or thinking.
as the disease progresses, patients may develop dementia, vision problems and be unable to speak.
Lukacher lab used mouse polyomavirus (MuPyV) to build models of JC polyomavirus-infected animals in mice.
their research focuses on strategies to reduce the harmful effects of MuPyV, with the aim of developing clinical transformational methods to improve clinical outcomes in PML patients and other immunodeficiency patients.
previous studies have shown that IL-21 is a key part of the body's immune response, but this new study investigates the specific role of IL-21 in the immune response to MuPyV infection.
Lukacher team studied mice that were unable to produce enough CD4 plus T cells and had similar defects in gene expression associated with CD8 plus TRM cell development.
they found that injecting IL-21 into their cerebrospinal fluids reduced these defects.
further research is needed to treat persistent central nervous system infections with IL-21 as a therapeutic agent," lukacher said.
whether it needs to be injected directly into the central nervous system or through peripheral injections, such as intravenous injections, requires further testing in our model.
" Lukacher said future studies will look at whether injecting MICE-21 into mice with persistent muPyV can enhance protective antiviral CD8-plus T cell response and control the viral infection under conditions of normal immune function or defects in CD4-T cells.
(bioon.com) Reference: 1. Heather M. Ren et al. IL-21 from high-affinity CD4 T cells drives derivion of brain-resident CD8 T cells when persistent viral. Science Immunology, 2020, doi:10.1126/sciimmunol.abb5590.2.IL-21 protein a key part of immune response to central nervous system.