Integrative Multi-Omics and Network Biology Approaches to Understanding Viral-Host Interactions in Neurodegenerative Diseases: From Pathogenesis to Therapeutic Targets

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDs) result from multiple causes which include both genetic elements and environmental factors and possibly infectious pathogens. Research studies show that the human brain contains dormant viral species which do not cause active infections[1], [2]. Recent studies have renewed interest in the hypothesis that viral infections may contribute to the initiation or progression of neurodegenerative diseases[3]. The review evaluates how integrative multi-omics and network biology methods analyze viral-host interactions in NDs to understand disease mechanisms and discover new therapeutic options. Scientists now study how various pathogens lead to brain diseases through high-throughput virus detection methods which show that diseased brains contain multiple viruses instead of focusing on individual pathogens. The modern analysis of the central nervous system now uses single-cell and spatial omics technologies with systems bioinformatics and artificial intelligence to provide complete examination. The methods allow scientists to link genomic data with transcriptomic and proteomic and metabolomic information for constructing complete interaction networks. Wongchitrat et al. (2024) report molecular mechanisms through which neurotropic viruses may promote chronic neuroinflammation and metabolic dysregulation and protein aggregation in the brain which leads to neuronal dysfunction based on network-driven analysis[4]. The review integrates current knowledge about viral-host interactions in neurodegeneration through discussions of new computational and experimental findings and suggests ways to use this information for creating biomarkers and personalized treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.