Zika Virus Infects Intermediate Progenitor Cells and Post-mitotic Committed Neurons in Human Fetal Brain Tissues.
Ming-Yi LinYi-Ling WangWan-Lin WuVictoria WolseleyMing-Ting TsaiVladimir RadicMatthew E ThorntonBrendan H GrubbsRobert H ChowI-Chueh HuangPublished in: Scientific reports (2017)
Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is associated with microcephaly in fetuses, but the pathogenesis of ZIKV-related microcephaly is not well understood. Here we show that ZIKV infects the subventricular zone in human fetal brain tissues and that the tissue tropism broadens with the progression of gestation. Our research demonstrates also that intermediate progenitor cells (IPCs) are the main target cells for ZIKV. Post-mitotic committed neurons become susceptible to ZIKV infection as well at later stages of gestation. Furthermore, activation of microglial cells, DNA fragmentation, and apoptosis of infected or uninfected cells could be found in ZIKV-infected brain tissues. Our studies identify IPCs as the main target cells for ZIKV. They also suggest that immune activation after ZIKV infection may play an important role in the pathogenesis of ZIKV-related microcephaly.
Keyphrases
- zika virus
- cell cycle arrest
- dengue virus
- induced apoptosis
- aedes aegypti
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- cell death
- endothelial cells
- oxidative stress
- gene expression
- pi k akt
- white matter
- preterm infants
- signaling pathway
- spinal cord injury
- inflammatory response
- multiple sclerosis
- hiv infected
- gestational age
- brain injury
- neuropathic pain
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- blood brain barrier
- lps induced
- circulating tumor cells