Evaluating the Safety of West Nile Virus Immunity During Congenital Zika Virus Infection in Mice.

ABSTRACT: Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) is a phenomenon that occurs when cross-reactive antibodies generated from a previous flaviviral infection increase the pathogenesis of a related virus. Zika virus (ZIKV) is the most recent flavivirus introduced to the Western Hemisphere and has become a significant public health threat due to the unanticipated impact on the developing fetus. West Nile virus (WNV) is the primary flavivirus that circulates in North America, and we and others have shown that antibodies against WNV are cross-reactive to ZIKV. Thus, there is concern that WNV immunity could increase the risk of severe ZIKV infection, particularly during pregnancy. In this study, we examined the extent to which WNV antibodies could impact ZIKV pathogenesis in a murine pregnancy model. To test

SUBMITTER: Acklin JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8250419 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature