MINI REVIEW article
Front. Immunol.
Sec. Inflammation
This article is part of the Research TopicImmunometabolism at the Intersection of Signaling Networks and Therapeutic StrategiesView all 5 articles
Viral Reprogramming of Glial Metabolism as a Driver of Neuroinflammation
Provisionally accepted
- Laboratório de Imunologia Aplicada, Departamento de Microbiologia, Imunologia e Parasitologia, Centro de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil
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Considerable attention has been recently devoted to the involvement of immune cells in the central nervous system (CNS) during infections with neurotropic viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, HIV-1, and ZIKV. These viruses are capable of infecting astrocytes and microglia, the main glial cells in the CNS, responsible for regulating neuronal activity. Here, we discuss how viral infections lead to metabolic reprogramming toward aerobic glycolysis in these cells, enhancing pro-inflammatory pathways, such as inflammasome activation, resulting in the secretion of inflammatory cytokines that favor the development of neuroinflammation. In this mini review, we discuss the pivotal interplay between metabolism and immunity towards viral pathogenesis in the CNS, pointing out the relevance of therapeutic strategies targeting both metabolic and immunological pathways to enhance antiviral and neuroprotective responses.
Keywords: CNS, glial cells, Inflammasome, metabolic reprogramming, Neuroinflammation, neurotropic viruses
Received: 15 Aug 2025; Accepted: 05 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Rodrigues, Beltrão, Girardi and Pinto. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Tamara Rodrigues
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