Interleukin-34 Promotes Activation of Disease-associated Microglia-like Cells and Attenuates Disease Progression in West Nile Virus Infection

West Nile virus (WNV) is a mosquito-borne orthoflavivirus that causes severe encephalitis, for which no approved antiviral therapies or human vaccines are currently available. Disease-associated microglia (DAM) represent a microglial state associated with neuroprotective functions in neurodegenerative diseases. We previously showed that DAM-like cells are localized in the vicinity of WNV-infected cells in the mouse brain and surmised that these cells may respond to WNV-infected cells. However, the functional significance of this spatial association has since remained unclear. Given the previous reports linking interleukin-34 (IL-34) to the activation of DAM-like cells, we investigated whether IL-34 promotes DAM-like responses and whether these responses are associated with protection against WNV infection. Transcriptomic analysis of IL-34–treated HMC3 human microglial cells revealed upregulation of markers characteristic of DAM, including TREM2 , APOE , FABP5 , and FTH1 . IL-34–treated HMC3 cells suppressed WNV replication in co-culture with WNV-infected SH-SY5Y human neuroblastoma cells apparently in a cell–cell contact-dependent manner, independent of secreted factors. In WNV-infected mice, IL-34 administration improved survival, reduced viral titers, and decreased neuronal apoptosis. IL-34 also increased the abundance of CD11c- and SPP1-positive DAM-like cells, predominantly in the vicinity of WNV-infected cells, in the mouse brain. These findings indicate that IL-34 promotes the activation of DAM-like cells and enhances protective responses in WNV encephalitis.