Investigations on the Immunopathology of Enterovirus 71

Abstract

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) is responsible for Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease and has been consistently associated with the most severe complications including death. While most research efforts have been devoted to understand the neuropathogenesis of EV71, the immunopathogenesis aspect of the viral infection has remained elusive. The aim of this thesis was thus to address some of the salient questions in EV71 immunopathogenesis in order to fill the important gaps in our understanding of this virus. The detrimental role of sustained, elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-6 and its potential cellular source was investigated in a mouse model. A novel mouse model of EV71 infection was later developed to gain further insight into the mechanisms involved in EV71 induced ? immunopathogenesis. Phenotypic comparative analysis of EV71 isolates in its mouse model revealed potential genetic determinants associated with the virulence factors in EV71, thus greatly contribute to our present knowledge of EV71 pathogenesis.