Department of Cellular Biology and Pharmacology, Florida International University, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
Department of Human and Molecular Genetics, Florida International University, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Miami, FL, 33199, USA.
J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2017 Sep;12(3):371-388. doi: 10.1007/s11481-017-9743-8. Epub 2017 Apr 25.
There is growing evidence that Zika virus (ZIKV) infection is linked with activation of Guillan-Barré syndrome (GBS) in adults infected with the virus and microcephaly in infants following maternal infection. With the recent outpour in publications by numerous research labs, the association between microcephaly in newborns and ZIKV has become very apparent in which large numbers of viral particles were found in the central nervous tissue of an electively aborted microcephalic ZIKV-infected fetus. However, the underlying related mechanisms remain poorly understood. Thus, development of ZIKV-infected animal models are urgently required. The need to develop drugs and vaccines of high efficacy along with efficient diagnostic tools for ZIKV treatment and management raised the demand for a very selective animal model for exploring ZIKV pathogenesis and related mechanisms. In this review, we describe recent advances in animal models developed for studying ZIKV pathogenesis and evaluating potential interventions against human infection, including during pregnancy. The current research directions and the scientific challenges ahead in developing effective vaccines and therapeutics are also discussed.
越来越多的证据表明，寨卡病毒（ZIKV）感染与成年人感染该病毒后吉兰-巴雷综合征（GBS）的激活以及孕妇感染后婴儿小头畸形有关。随着众多研究实验室最近发表的大量出版物，新生儿小头畸形与 ZIKV 之间的关联变得非常明显，在自愿终止妊娠的小头畸形 ZIKV 感染胎儿的中枢神经系统中发现了大量病毒颗粒。然而，相关的潜在机制仍知之甚少。因此，迫切需要开发感染寨卡病毒的动物模型。需要开发高效的药物和疫苗以及有效的诊断工具来治疗和管理 ZIKV，这就要求开发一种非常有选择性的动物模型来探索 ZIKV 的发病机制和相关机制。在这篇综述中，我们描述了为研究 ZIKV 发病机制和评估针对人类感染的潜在干预措施而开发的动物模型的最新进展，包括在怀孕期间。还讨论了开发有效疫苗和治疗方法的当前研究方向和未来的科学挑战。
