Why clues in the brain could help combat tick-borne viruses
Research has revealed how a tick-borne virus manipulates human brain chemistry to survive, offering new hope for diagnosis and treatment.
The study found that the tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV), a disease transmitted through tick bites or unpasteurised dairy products, alters key molecules in the brain to aid its survival.
With symptoms similar to flu, TBEV has around 10,000 to 12,000 cases reported per year. While around half of those infected can clear the virus naturally, others may go on to develop symptoms of TBE. In 10-20% of cases it spreads to the brain and spinal cord, and can cause severe brain inflammation (encephalitis), seizures, and long-term neurological complications.
The research team, led by Dr Niluka Goonawardane, a virologist at the Faculty of Biological Sciences and The Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology, compared the cerebrospinal fluid (liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord), from patients with both mild and severe forms of the disease.
Severe cases had significant changes in metabolites – molecules in the brain that control energy production, signalling, and immune response. These changes suggest that the virus reprogrammes the brain's biochemical pathways to help it replicate and survive.
Dr Goonawardane, lead researcher at the University of Leeds, explained:
Now we know that these molecules play a vital role in the survival of the virus and development of severe brain inflammation, they hold huge potential to help us fight this virus.
“We can use them as natural indicators called biomarkers to diagnose TBEV infection, or to predict if someone is going to develop severe disease, or even as targets for future treatments to prevent severe disease.”
Read the full press release on the Faculty of Biological Sciences website.