Human brain tissue cultures: a unique ex vivo model to unravel the pathogenesis of neurotropic arboviruses

Author(s)

Almeida, Glaucia M. ; Silva, Bruna M. ; Arruda, Eurico ; Sebollela, Adriano

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: CURRENT OPINION IN VIROLOGY; v. 70, p. 8-pg., 2025-02-01.

Abstract

Arboviruses are transmitted by arthropods, and their spread from deforestation, climate change, and global mobility. Arbovirus infection in human results in symptoms ranging from mild to lifethreatening, with the impairment of central nervous system functions being reported in severe cases. Despite its clinical relevance, the mechanisms by which arboviruses led to neural dysfunction are still poorly understood. The lack of a widespread human central nervous system model to study the virus-host interaction challenges the advance of our knowledge on these mechanisms. In this context, human brain-derived ex vivo models have the advantage of preserving cellular diversity, cell connections, and tissue cytoarchitecture found in human brain, raising them as a powerful strategy to elucidate the cellularmolecular alterations underlying brain diseases. Here, we review recent advances in the field of neurotropic arboviruses obtained using ex vivo human brain tissue as the experimental model. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 21/10925-8 - Neurotoxic beta-amyloid peptide oligomers: biochemical isolation, conformational studies and neutralization in Alzheimer's Disease models
• Grantee: Adriano Silva Sebollela
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 19/26119-0 - Emerging and re-emerging viruses: biology, pathogenesis and prospection
• Grantee: Eurico de Arruda Neto
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 21/12263-2 - Tissue-molecular alterations associated with viral infections in adult human brain slice cultures
• Grantee: Glaucia Maria de Almeida
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate