Revised: February 3, 2013
Accepted: February 8, 2013
Published online: February 12, 2013
Betanodaviruses cause viral nervous necrosis, an infectious neuropathological condition in fish that is characterized by necrosis of the central nervous system, including the brain and retina. This disease can cause mass mortality in larval and juvenile populations of several teleost species and is of global economic importance. The mechanism of brain and retina damage during betanodavirus infection is poorly understood. In this review, we will focus recent results that highlight betanodavirus infection-induced molecular death mechanisms in vitro. Betanodavirus can induce host cellular death and post-apoptotic necrosis in fish cells. Betanodavirus-induced necrotic cell death is also correlated with loss of mitochondrial membrane potential in fish cells, as this necrotic cell death is blocked by the mitochondrial membrane permeability transition pore inhibitor bongkrekic acid and the expression of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member zfBcl-xL. Moreover, this mitochondria-mediated necrotic cell death may require a caspase-independent pathway. A possible cellular death pathway involving mitochondrial function and the modulator zfBcl-xs is discussed which may provide new insights into the necrotic pathogenesis of betanodavirus.