Long-term Elevation of Complement Factors in Cerebrospinal Fluid of Patients With Borna Disease Virus 1 Encephalitis

Borna disease virus type 1 (BoDV-1) is a highly neurotropic enveloped RNA virus with liner, non-segmented, single-stranded, negative-sense genome of approximately 8.9 kb. BoDV-1 causes a rare but severe form of encephalitis. The mortality rate is very high and no effective countermeasures have been established. Recent research has shown increases in inflammatory cytokines and chemokines such as IF-γ, IL-6, IL-12p40, CCL-2 and CCL-5. However, there is a lack of data on the role of the complement system during BoDV-1 infection. This study showed that the cerebrospinal fluid samples of patients infected with BoDV-1 showed elevated levels of all complement pathway factors and activation of the complement cascade. In patients with BoDV-1 encephalitis, a negative correlation has been shown to exist between the concentration of specific complement factors in CSF and survival rate. The measurement of complement factors in CSF from patients with BoDV-1 encephalitis may help to identify additional diagnostic markers, prognostic markers, or target for treatment.
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