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The Zika threat to the periphery

Nature Neuroscience volume 20, pages 1191–1192 (2017)Cite this article

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Zika virus infection is associated with birth defects, including microcephaly, but also with disorders of peripheral nerves. Oh et al. use rodent and human cell models to explore how the virus affects the peripheral nervous system.

In February 2016 the World Health Organization declared Zika virus (ZIKV) a Public Health Emergency of International Concern1. The mosquito-borne RNA flavivirus was discovered in 1947 in rhesus macaques of the Zika forest of Uganda, and for decades, infection with ZIKV was primarily associated with mild, flu-like symptoms2,3. But since 2007, sudden increases in several geographical areas of the number of cases of microcephaly in newborns and of peripheral nerve disorders in adults exposed to ZIKV raised concerns. Subsequently, epidemiological studies and experiments performed in human neural cells and in pregnant macaques have demonstrated the ability of ZIKV to directly act on cells of the CNS and to cause microcephaly4,5,6,7. However, the effects of ZIKV on the peripheral nervous system (PNS) have not been sufficiently explored.

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Figure 1: Modeling Zika virus infection in the peripheral nervous system.

Kim Caesar / Springer Nature

References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences,

    Themasap A. Khan & Sergiu P. Paşca

  2. the Graduate Program in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, USA

    Themasap A. Khan

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  1. Themasap A. Khan
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  2. Sergiu P. Paşca
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Correspondence to Sergiu P. Paşca.

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Khan, T., Paşca, S. The Zika threat to the periphery. Nat Neurosci 20, 1191–1192 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4633

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