In-vitro brain organotypic model of Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy

描述（由申请人提供）：进行性多灶性脑白质病（PML）是一种由JC病毒引起的破坏性脑感染，这种病毒可能处于休眠和非活性状态，直到免疫紊乱触发其激活，在人类中产生免疫抑制。受艾滋病或免疫抑制疾病（如癌症或风湿病）影响的患者极易发生PML。我们对PML感染机制缺乏了解的一个最明显的限制因素是缺乏可靠的体外细胞或组织模型来研究JCV感染的病理生物学。该建议直接解决了开发体外JCV感染脑组织模型的关键需求。通过利用手术切除癫痫患者的脑组织，我们开发了一种体外人器官型脑组织培养（HOBTC）系统，适用于神经胶质细胞、微血管网络和神经元-神经胶质相互作用的长期研究。该建议将进一步表征HOBTC中JCV感染体外模型的使用，以评估有关神经胶质细胞JCV感染的生物学和细胞对感染的反应的关键问题，但最重要的是建立一个模型，可能有助于测试PML治疗的潜在方法。我们计划在HOBTC模型中描述神经胶质细胞对JCV感染的反应特征，并研究HIV合并感染对HOBTC模型中神经胶质细胞感染的动态和模式的影响。我们将研究从PML患者脑脊液中分离的病毒JCV基因组的分子差异和紊乱是否影响HOBTC模型中神经胶质细胞感染的动态和模式。我们开发PML感染的体外组织模型的能力将提高对JCV感染的生物学机制的理解，最重要的是识别调节和决定中枢神经系统内神经胶质细胞感染模式的病毒和宿主因素。这种能力还将加快制定修改和控制JCV感染的策略，并最终找到针对PML的特异性治疗方法。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) is a devastating infection of the brain by JC virus, a virus that may remain dormant and inactive until its activation is triggered by immunological disturbances that produce immunosupression in humans. Patients affected by AIDS or immunosuppressive disorders such as cancer or rheumatological disorders are highly susceptible for developing PML. One of the most evident limiting factors in our lack of knowledge of the mechanisms of infection in PML is the lack of reliable in-vitro cell or tissue models for studying the pathobiology of JCV infection. This proposal directly addresses this critical desirable need for the development of an in-vitro brain tissue model of JCV infection. By taking advantage of surgically removed brain tissues from patients undergoing surgical treatment of epilepsy, we developed an in-vitro human organotypic brain tissue culture (HOBTC) system suitable for long-term studies of neuroglial cells, microvascular networks and neuronal-glial interactions. This proposal will further characterize the use of the in-vitro model of JCV infection in HOBTC to assess critical questions about the biology of JCV infection of neuroglia cells and cellular responses to infection, but most importantly to develop a model that may facilitate testing of potential approaches in the treatment of PML. We plan to characterize the profile of neuroglial cell responses to JCV infection in the HOBTC model and also to study the effects of HIV co-infection in the dynamic and patterns of neuroglia infection in the HOBTC model. We will study whether molecular differences and disarrangements in the JCV genome of viruses isolated from CSF of PML patients affect the dynamic and pattern of neuroglia infection in the HOBTC model. Our ability to develop an in-vitro tissue model of PML infection will improve the understanding of the biological mechanisms of JCV infection and above all identify viral and host factors that modulate and determine the pattern of infection of neuroglial cells within the CNS. That ability will also expedite the development of strategies to modify and control JCV infections and to eventually find specific treatments for PML.