How dengue fever and causes vascular leak and shock
How dengue fever and causes vascular leak and shock
The dengue NS1 protein is thought to play a critical role in severe dengue disease by triggering immune reactions associated with vascular leak and shock, which are the major causes of death in persons suffering from dengue hemorrhagic fever.
Displayed by permission of The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. (A Britannica Publishing Partner)
Transcript
Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral illness. And it's a huge problem these days, because it affects up to one-half of the world's population. Of the 390 million people who are infected every year, about 100 million can go on to develop what's called breakbone fever because of the severe pain and muscle and bone aches. I've actually had it, so I survived. But the problem is that several hundred thousand of the 100 million cases will continue on to severe disease, which can then be fatal within 24 to 48 hours.
When a mosquito infects a person with dengue virus, it enters the bloodstream and then infects white blood cells. This then leads to production of more viruses. But only one viral protein is released from infected cells and this is called NS1. What we have now found is that this NS1 protein by itself can cause vascular leak, which means fluids escaping from your bloodstream that leads to then shock and potentially death.
The disease causes vascular leak. Thus, we think this is too much of a coincidence. And we feel that NS1 now should be considered as part of the causal factors in dengue severe disease.
One, it's compatible with what we've always known about severe dengue disease, which is that it's a result of what we call a cytokine storm, an excessive release of inflammatory immune molecules. And we've now shown that NS1 can directly cause the release of these inflammatory immune molecules, leading thus to vascular leak. The second aspect is that we've found that NS1 can cause leakage directly on the endothelial cells in the lung, meaning those cells that line the blood vessels in the lung.
So dengue is a very difficult disease and needs to be attacked on many different fronts. Some of our work, for instance in Nicaragua, is directly in communities, stopping mosquito transmission. However, our work here at Berkeley focuses on upstream targets. And we're really excited that this new discovery can lead to additional targets for drugs, as well as new vaccines that can stop dengue in the future.
When a mosquito infects a person with dengue virus, it enters the bloodstream and then infects white blood cells. This then leads to production of more viruses. But only one viral protein is released from infected cells and this is called NS1. What we have now found is that this NS1 protein by itself can cause vascular leak, which means fluids escaping from your bloodstream that leads to then shock and potentially death.
The disease causes vascular leak. Thus, we think this is too much of a coincidence. And we feel that NS1 now should be considered as part of the causal factors in dengue severe disease.
One, it's compatible with what we've always known about severe dengue disease, which is that it's a result of what we call a cytokine storm, an excessive release of inflammatory immune molecules. And we've now shown that NS1 can directly cause the release of these inflammatory immune molecules, leading thus to vascular leak. The second aspect is that we've found that NS1 can cause leakage directly on the endothelial cells in the lung, meaning those cells that line the blood vessels in the lung.
So dengue is a very difficult disease and needs to be attacked on many different fronts. Some of our work, for instance in Nicaragua, is directly in communities, stopping mosquito transmission. However, our work here at Berkeley focuses on upstream targets. And we're really excited that this new discovery can lead to additional targets for drugs, as well as new vaccines that can stop dengue in the future.