Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV), a flavivirus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes, has spread to 59 countries and territories throughout the world. ZIKV-infected patients can have several symptoms and there is scientific consensus that ZIKV is a cause of microcephaly. Most studies are focusing on the central nervous system (CNS), and it is largely unknown whether ZIKV also affects the developing peripheral nervous system. Here, using a human pluripotent stem cell-based model, we demonstrated that Puerto Rican ZIKV strain, PRVABC59, efficiently infects human neural crest cells (hNCCs). In contrast to little infection of CNS neurons, ZIKV readily infects human peripheral neurons (hPNs), leading to cell death. Global gene expression analyses of infected hNCCs and hPNs reveal transcriptional dysregulation, notably of cell-death- and cell-cycle-related pathways. Our results identify hNCCs and hPNs as a direct ZIKV target and provide a framework to investigate the ZIKV pathology on the peripheral neurons.
Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted positive-sense RNA virus in the family Flaviviridae. Candidate live-attenuated vaccine (LAV) viruses with engineered deletions in the 3’UTR provide immunity and protection in animal models of ZIKV infection, and phenotypic studies show that LAVs retain protective abilities following in vitro passage. The present study investigates the genetic diversity of wild-type (WT) parent ZIKV and its candidate LAVs using next generation sequencing analysis of five sequential in vitro passages. ZIKV RNA from was transfected into Vero cells, incubated for nine days, harvested, and clarified by centrifugation to generate passage 0 (P0) ZIKV infectious clones. Subsequently, P0 ZIKVs were blind-passaged into fresh cultures to generate P1, then serially through P5. P1-P5 stocks were harvested from cell media at 4-5 days post-infection. ZIKV RNA from 3’UTR deletion mutants were transfected into Vero cells, incubated for nine days, harvested, and clarified by centrifugation to generate passage 0 (P0) ZIKV infectious clones. Subsequently, P0 ZIKVs were blind-passaged into fresh cultures to generate P1, then serially through P5. P1-P5 stocks were harvested from cell media at 4-5 days post-infection. Genetic diversity of the viruses were assessed by evaluating both the variability (or uncertainty) at each nucleotide position was determined using Shannon entropy calculations and identified single nucleotide variants (SNVs). The results showed both the parental WT and LAV derivatives increase in genetic diversity with evidence of adaptation following passage.
Project description:Administration of recombinant interferons to 3D brain organoid cultures infected with ZIKV identifies IFN-beta as compound that alleviates organoid damage and inhibits ZIKV
Project description:RNA-Sequencing performed on 177 honey bee whole-brains, divided into "soldier" and "forager" groups from Puerto Rican honey bee colonies.
Project description:Whether Zika virus (ZIKV) could be transmitted via aerosol routes remains unknown. In this study, we demonstrated that aerosolized ZIKV is fully infectious in vitro and in vivo.Transcriptome analysis further revealed that genes expression related to viral process, biological regulation and immune system response were significantly changed.
Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-transmitted positive-sense RNA virus in the family Flaviviridae. ZIKV infections are associated with neurodevelopmental deficiencies termed Congenital Zika Syndrome. ZIKV strains are grouped into three phylogenetic lineages: East African, West African, and Asian, which contains the American lineage. RNA virus genomes exist as genetically-related sequences. The heterogeneity of these viral populations is implicated in viral fitness, and genome diversity is correlated to virulence. This study examines genetic diversity of representative ZIKV strains from all lineages utilizing next generation sequencing (NGS). Inter-lineage diversity results indicate that ZIKV lineages differ broadly from each other; however, intra-lineage comparisons of American ZIKV strains isolated from human serum or placenta show differences in diversity when compared to ZIKVs from Asia and West Africa. This study describes the first comprehensive NGS analysis of all ZIKV lineages and posits that sub-consensus-level diversity may provide a framework for understanding ZIKV fitness during infection.
Project description:Zika virus (ZIKV), a pathogen of global health concern, is transmitted to humans by Aedes mosquitoes. However, the molecular interactions between the vector and the virus remain largely unexplored. We demonstrated that ZIKV and dengue virus (DENV) have similar tropism and infection kinetics in two mosquito strains with different degrees of susceptibility to infection. Comparison of Aedes aegypti’s molecular responses to ZIKV and DENV infection indicated that around 40% of the mosquito’s infection-responsive transcriptome is virus-specific. Regulated genes also included key factors of the mosquito’s anti-viral immunity, pointing to the possible involvement of the Toll innate immune pathway. Comparison of ZIKV and DENV infection-responsive transcriptome data to those for yellow fever virus and West Nile virus identified 26 genes likely to play key roles in virus infection of Aedes mosquitoes. Through reverse genetic analyses, we showed that the Toll and the Jak/Stat innate immune pathways mediate increased resistance to ZIKV infection, and the virus use vATPase and inosine-5’-monophosphate dehydrogenase as mosquito’s host factors.