Zika virus depletes neural stem cells and evades selective autophagy by suppressing the Fanconi anemia protein FANCC.

ABSTRACT: Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging flavivirus, which when passed through vertical transmission from mother to developing fetus can lead to developmental abnormalities, including microcephaly. While there is mounting evidence that suggests a causal relationship between ZIKV infection and microcephaly, the mechanisms by which ZIKV induces these changes remain to be elucidated. Here, we demonstrate that ZIKV infection of neural stems cells, both in vitro and in vivo, induces macroautophagy to enhance viral replication. At the same time, ZIKV downregulates a number of essential selective autophagy genes, including the Fanconi anemia (FA) pathway genes. Bioinformatics analyses indicate that the transcription factor E2F4 promotes FANCC expression and is downregulated upon ZIKV infection. Gain and

SUBMITTER: Tiwari SK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7726779 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature