New Study Suggests the Japanese Encephalitis Virus Can Be Foiled By Antibodies and Immune Cells

A new study shows that having the right balance of antibodies and immune cells will help fight the Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV). JEV is caused by a mosquito-borne virus, which has now spread to areas wherein the Zika virus is also present.

How The T-Cells Retaliate To Such a Spectacle

Associate Professor Sujan Shresta, who leads the research at La Jolla Institute for Immunology, demonstrated in their review that special protein molecules called antibodies are prone to cross-reactivity against JEV. The same antibodies also acknowledged the presence of Zika, but in the long run, it will heighten the gravity of the illness. The scientists used mice in the test trial to show how T-cells can neutralize such a fatal response.

Currently, the world of medicine has yet to find a cure for JEV.

Given these points, Shresta and her associates acknowledge the need to manufacture a vaccine that will cater to both JEV and Zika virus, which will generate symmetry of T-cells and antibodies as mentioned in Eureka Alert.

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Who Is Sujan Shresta of La Jolla Institute of Immunology

Shresta, who went to the University of California, Berkeley for her post-doctoral training, is a steadfast authority when it comes to viruses. She has devoted her profession in analyzing flaviviruses. Under these bracket of viruses you will find:

• West Nile virus

• Dengue

• Yellow Fever

• JEV

• Zika virus

Shresta has devoted most of her career towards analyzing the flaviviruses-a group of viruses that includes dengue, JEV, Zika, yellow fever, and the West Nile virus, according to Home Health Choices.

Every year, JEV is identified in every 68,000 individuals. It usually results in a mortality rate of one in four deaths of those infected. A common virus in Southeast-Asian countries, it also leads to intense mental disorder and disorder to the nervous system. Due to migration and climate change, theses diseases have become a household name since mosquitoes now are thriving in an enlarged habitat. This has lead to more individuals being in peril of facing the dangers of numerous flaviviruses. 

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Cross-Reactivity and Antibody-Dependent Enhancement (ADE) 

In some situations, the immune response to a single flavivirus will contribute a future flavivirus infection to become more dangerous. This allows the virus to make its way to the host cell slowly. 

The researchers have demonstrated this process as Antibody-Dependent Enhancement (ADE). During this activity, the infections of dengue and Zika on the animal models help summarize the extremity of the cases acquired by an individual who beforehand was left unprotected to either dengue or Zika virus. 

"The immune responses to these viruses are very cross-reactive. The problem is that the immune response can be both good and bad," the Center for Infectious Disease professor admitted to Science Codex.

As a result, Shresta and her fellow researchers took out antibodies from both JEV infected mice and individuals inoculated with JEV. They then proceeded by given these as a shot to healthy mice who were then exposed to a Zika virus. They later concluded that the JEV-extracted T-cells were able to know the Zika virus and were able to get rid of it.

Shresta's study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine was co-authored by Yanjuan Zhang, Ph.D., and Jinsheng Wen, Ph.D.

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