Comparison of human cerebral organoids infected with wild-type Zika versus attenuated DN-2 virus strains uncovers differences in host immune responses.

ABSTRACT: Zika virus (ZIKV), a neurotropic virus, poses significant global health challenges because of its ability to cause severe neurological complications and congenital brain abnormalities. Prenatal ZIKV infection impairs early brain development. However, details of the molecular mechanisms driving their virulence remain incompletely understood. Here, we performed comparatively analyses of infection outcomes caused by 2 different ZIKV strains - wild-type (WT) ZIKV versus an attenuated strain (DN-2) - in human cerebral organoids (hCOs) to dissect host responses that could contribute to pathogenicity. Although both viral strains productively infected hCOs with indiscernible gross pathological changes, differences in host responses and subtypes of cells infected discriminate WT ZIKV from DN-2 infe

SUBMITTER: Choo YY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12821835 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature