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| Abstract |
Mosquitoes carrying important arboviruses, such as West Nile (WNV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses, have expanded in range over the past few decades due to numerous factors, including climate change, international trade, and long-haul travel. Many arboviruses activate the host’s innate immune response,including interferon (IFN) pathway. On the other hand, the IFN pathway has been shown to be involved in neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, such as that seen in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases (PD). We hypothesized that viral-triggered IFN activation may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. Here we examine relationships between changes in the mosquito distribution and PD incidence from 1990 to 2010, as well as any changes in rainfall, and average temperature worldwide. We also considered distribution of variants of IFN type III genes, IFN Lambda 3 and 4, in human populations, as these genes have been shown to play a role in immune response to flaviviral infections. Our results show similarly increasing trends in PD incidence and mosquito spread over time across different countries. For example, during this study period Italy, Russia, and the United States all experienced an increase in distribution and/or introduction of a new mosquito species capable of carrying arboviruses. At the same time these countries appeared to have an increase in incidences of flaviviral infections and PD. While multiple factors, including better diagnostic and surveillance of neurodegenerative diseases, may be responsible for the reported PD trends, the potential links between arboviral infections and neurodegenerative diseases should be explored further.
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| Contributor(s) |
Faculty Mentor
Helen Piontkivska |
| Modified Abstract |
Mosquitoes carrying important arboviruses, such as West Nile (WNV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses, have expanded in range over the past decades due to numerous factors. Many arboviruses activate the host’s innate immune response, including interferon (IFN) pathway. The IFN pathway has also been shown to be involved in neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, such as that seen in Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases (PD). We hypothesized that viral-triggered IFN activation may contribute to neurodegenerative diseases. Here we examine relationships between changes in the mosquito distribution and PD incidence from 1990 to 2010. We also considered distribution of variants of IFN type III genes, IFN Lambda 3 and 4, in human populations. Based on our findings, the potential links between arboviral infections and neurodegenerative diseases should be explored further. |
| Permalink | https://oaks.kent.edu/ugresearch/2020/biologyecology/association-between-mosquito-spread-and-neurodegenerative-diseases |
Nitirahardjo, C. Association Between Mosquito Spread and Neurodegenerative Diseases: A First Glance. https://oaks.kent.edu/node/10188
Nitirahardjo, Caroline. n.d. “Association Between Mosquito Spread and Neurodegenerative Diseases: A First Glance”. https://oaks.kent.edu/node/10188.
Nitirahardjo, C. Association Between Mosquito Spread and Neurodegenerative Diseases: A First Glance. https://oaks.kent.edu/node/10188.