School of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Biological Sciences and Astbury Centre for Structural and Molecular Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
Mol Biol Rep. 2020 Apr;47(4):3097-3115. doi: 10.1007/s11033-020-05349-y. Epub 2020 Mar 3.
Zika virus is a mosquito-borne Flavivirus originally isolated from humans in 1952. Following its re-emergence in Brazil in 2015, an increase in the number of babies born with microcephaly to infected mothers was observed. Microcephaly is a neurodevelopmental disorder, characterised phenotypically by a smaller than average head size, and is usually developed in utero. The 2015 outbreak in the Americas led to the World Health Organisation declaring Zika a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Since then, much research into the effects of Zika has been carried out. Studies have investigated the structure of the virus, its effects on and evasion of the immune response, cellular entry including target receptors, its transmission from infected mother to foetus and its cellular targets. This review discusses current knowledge and novel research into these areas, in hope of developing a further understanding of how exposure of pregnant women to the Zika virus can lead to impaired brain development of their foetus. Although no longer considered an epidemic in the Americas, the mechanism by which Zika acts is still not comprehensively and wholly understood, and this understanding will be crucial in developing effective vaccines and treatments.
寨卡病毒是一种蚊媒黄病毒，最初于 1952 年从人类身上分离出来。2015 年巴西再次出现寨卡病毒后，观察到感染寨卡病毒的母亲所生婴儿小头畸形的数量增加。小头畸形是一种神经发育障碍，表型上以头围小于平均水平为特征，通常在子宫内发育。2015 年美洲的疫情爆发导致世界卫生组织宣布寨卡病毒为国际关注的突发公共卫生事件。从那时起，对寨卡病毒的影响进行了大量研究。研究已经调查了病毒的结构、对免疫反应的影响和逃避、细胞进入包括靶受体、从感染的母亲到胎儿的传播以及其细胞靶标。本综述讨论了这些领域的最新知识和新研究，希望进一步了解孕妇接触寨卡病毒如何导致胎儿大脑发育受损。尽管美洲不再被认为是寨卡病毒的流行地区，但寨卡病毒的作用机制仍未得到全面和完全的理解，这一理解对于开发有效的疫苗和治疗方法至关重要。
