Fetal Zika virus inoculation in macaques revealed control of the fetal viral load during pregnancy.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Early pregnancy Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is associated with major brain damage in fetuses, leading to microcephaly in 0.6-5.0% of cases, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown.

Methods

To understand the kinetics of ZIKV infection during fetal development in a nonhuman primate model, four cynomolgus macaque fetuses were exposed in utero through echo-guided intramuscular inoculation with 10³ PFU of ZIKV at 70-80 days of gestation, 2 controls were mock inoculated. Clinical, immuno-virological and ultrasound imaging follow-ups of the mother/fetus pairs were performed until autopsy after cesarean section 1 or 2 months after exposure (n = 3 per group).

Results

ZIKV was transmitted from the fetus to the mother and then replicate in the

SUBMITTER: Egloff C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11373269 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature