Risk of microcephaly after Zika virus infection in Brazil, 2015 to 2016
by Jaenisch et al.Based on the reported data from Brazil in 2015/16, this publication describes a plausible range for the risk of microcephaly in women who were infected with Zika virus during pregnancy compared to those who were not infected. The key message is that the large uncertainty around the risk estimate needs to be further investigated because of a) the possible existence of co-factors that are yet to be validated, b) the assumptions that need be made for the proportion of women who were infected during pregnancy.
Substrate selectivity of Dengue and Zika virus NS5 polymerase towards 2'-modified nucleotide analogues
by Potisopon et al.In addition to representing the first ZIKV full-length NS5 activity report at the molecular level, this study should help the design of pan-flavivirus drugs aiming at the control of many Flavivirus members of this large family of emerging arboviruses, as well as understand the basis of re-purposing drugs against emerging viral diseases.
Zika Virus Methyltransferase: Structure and Functions for Drug Design Perspectives
by Coutard et al.The results outlined in the article contribute to a better understanding of the ZIKVMTase, a central player in viral replication and host innate immune response, and lay the basis for the development of potential antiviral drugs.
Zika virus causes supernumerary foci with centriolar proteins and impaired spindle positioning
by Wolf et al.The article concludes that infection with Flaviviridae can increase centrosome numbers and impair spindle positioning, thus potentially contributing to microcephaly in the case of Zika.
African and Asian Zika virus strains differentially induce early antiviral responses in primary human astrocytes
by Hamel et al.This study describes for the first time the specific antiviral gene expression in infected primary human astrocytes, the major glial cells within the central nervous system.
Zika virus in asymptomatic blood donors in Martinique
by Gallian et al.This pioneering study suggests that the study of blood donors during outbreaks of emerging pathogens has become a key element of epidemiological surveillance.
A study performed by the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) team of Dr Ali Amara (U944, Paris, France) and published in Cell Reports sheds new light on the mechanisms allowing ZIKV to infect cells within the human nervous system. Amara et al. showed that the protein Axl is expressed in a number of brain glial cells and that the entry of ZIKV into these cells requires another protein, Gas6, to act as a bridge between the ZIKV particles and the glial cells.
By using the bacterium-free ‘Infectious Subgenomic Amplicons’ (ISA) method, this study provides the scientific community with two simple and performing reverse genetics systems for ZIKV.