REVIEW article
Front. Microbiol.
Sec. Virology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2025.1711088
Innate immune sensing and vaccine strategies against West Nile virus: Role of Toll-like receptors and viral evasion mechanisms
Provisionally accepted
- 1Patuakhali Science and Technology University, Patuakhali, Bangladesh
- 2Koeki Zaidan Hojin Tokyo-to Igaku Sogo Kenkyujo, Setagaya, Japan
- 3Kagoshima University, Kagoshima, Japan
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The West Nile virus (WNV), an emerging neurotropic flavivirus and a leading cause of viral encephalitis worldwide, represents a significant public health threat owing to its neuroinvasive potential and the absence of a licensed human vaccine. Understanding the host immune response to WNV, particularly the role of Toll-like receptors (TLRs), is critical for elucidating viral pathogenesis and developing therapeutic strategies. TLRs are essential for the detection of viral components, initiation of innate immunity, and shaping of adaptive responses. Despite progress in research, no clinically approved WNV vaccine is currently available for humans, highlighting the urgent need for effective vaccine development. This review summarizes the current knowledge regarding the TLR-mediated immunity in WNV infection, with a focus on immune activation mechanisms and viral evasion strategies. Furthermore, we examine recent advances in vaccine development, emphasizing the potential of TLR agonists as adjuvants to enhance immunogenicity and protective efficacy.
Keywords: West Nile virus, Toll-Like Receptors, Toll-like receptor agonists, innate immunity, Immune Evasion, vaccine development
Received: 23 Sep 2025; Accepted: 17 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kayesh, Kohara and Tsukiyama-Kohara. 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: Kyoko Tsukiyama-Kohara, kkohara@vet.kagoshima-u.ac.jp
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