Enterovirus‐71 utilizes small extracellular vesicles to cross the blood–brain barrier for infecting the central nervous system via transcytosis

Abstract Background Central nervous system (CNS) infections caused by Enterovirus 71 (EV71) pose a serious threat to children, causing severe neurogenic complications and even fatality in some patients. However, the pathogenesis of EV71 infections in the CNS remains unclear. Methods An in vitro blood–brain barrier (BBB) model was constructed by coculturing brain microvascular endothelial cells (BMECs) and astrocytes in transwell inserts for simulating CNS infections. EV71 virions and small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) derived from EV71‐infected cells (EV71‐sEVs) were isolated from the cell culture supernatant by density gradient centrifugation. The BBB model was separately infected with EV71 virions and EV71‐sEVs. The mechanism of crossing the BBB was determined by inhibiting the different endocytic modes. A murine model of EV71 infection was constructed for confirming the results of in vitro experiments. Results The EV71‐sEVs containing viral components were endocytosed by BMECs and released on the abluminal side of the BBB model, where they infected the astrocytes without disrupting the BBB in the early stages of infection. The integrity of the tight junctions (TJs) between BMECs was breached via downregulation of PI3K/Akt signaling in the late stages of infection. Conclusions EV71 utilized the circulating sEVs for infecting the CNS by crossing the BBB.