Copyright
©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Infect Dis. Nov 25, 2015; 5(4): 67-76
Published online Nov 25, 2015. doi: 10.5495/wjcid.v5.i4.67
Published online Nov 25, 2015. doi: 10.5495/wjcid.v5.i4.67
Interplay between rabies virus and the mammalian immune system
Nicholas Johnson, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Surrey KT15 3NB, United Kingdom
Adam F Cunningham, Institute of Microbiology and Infection, School of Immunity and Infection, University of Birmingham, Birmingham BT15 2TT, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Both authors wrote the paper.
Supported by The European Union Seventh Framework Programme through project ANTIGONE: Anticipating the global onset of novel epidemics, No. 278976.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that no competing interest exists.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Nicholas Johnson, PhD, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Woodham Lane, Surrey KT15 3NB, United Kingdom. nick.johnson@apha.gsi.gov.uk
Telephone: +44-19-32357724 Fax: +44-19-32357237
Received: June 2, 2015
Peer-review started: June 3, 2015
First decision: August 8, 2015
Revised: September 23, 2015
Accepted: November 13, 2015
Article in press: November 17, 2015
Published online: November 25, 2015
Peer-review started: June 3, 2015
First decision: August 8, 2015
Revised: September 23, 2015
Accepted: November 13, 2015
Article in press: November 17, 2015
Published online: November 25, 2015
Core Tip
Core tip: Rabies is a devastating disease in developing countries with a very high case-fatality rate. The delayed immune response to infection with rabies virus could be a defining factor in poor prognosis following infection. Understanding the reasons for this muted response and identifying ways to manipulate immune effectors may lead to new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of rabies. This article reviews the reasons for the apparent failure of the immune response and identifies areas for therapeutic development.