In their recently published paper, Banerjee et al. discovered the mechanism of how Dengue virus causes a reduction in platelet counts. Dengue virus is an arthropod-borne virus of the Flaviviridae family. The virus causes dengue fever which can lead to hemorrhagic fever and thrombocytopenia (low platelet counts) or even in some cases, dengue shock syndrome (DSS).
This paper looked into platelet production from DENV infected MEG-01 cells in an in vitro model. The results show that DENV infection can hinder megakaryopoiesis and hence, the formation of platelets through the induction of the Notch pathway in MEG-01 cells. Specifically, the induction of the Notch pathway occurs through the interaction of the DENV E protein with megakaryopoiesis-specific transcription factor TAL-1 in MEG-01 cells. This indicates the upregulation of the Notch signalling pathway by DENV as Notch signalling in humans is known to inhibit megakaryopoiesis and platelet formation. In addition, the investigators show that DENV can infect undifferentiated MEG-01 cells and replicate as the cells differentiate after infection. Moreover, the levels of platelets surface-specific markers were reported to be low in DENV-infected MEG-01 cells suggesting a compromised platelet aggregation ability of platelets produced in infected cells. Low levels of the platelets surface-specific marker CD41 is the cause of Bernard-Soulier syndrome associated with thrombocytopenia.
- Bethel
Reference
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-76350-5
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