Molecular mechanisms leading to Zika virus-associated microcephaly

Researchers at Campinas State University (UNICAMP), the Dole Institute, and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in Brazil have identified molecular processes that may help explain microcephaly

According to an article published in Molecular Neurobiology about the study, the researchers performed proteomic analysis to detect changes

"When oligodendrocytes do not mature properly, the formation of the myelin sheath may be defective, which has very adverse consequences for brain development," said Daniel Martin-de Suza, the last author of the article and a professor at the Institute of Biology at Campinas State University (IBB-Unicamp).

The research was supported by FAPESP, whose postdoctoral fellowship was awarded to Juliana Minardi Nascimento, the first author of the article, and the master's scholarship was awarded to the second author, Danielle Gouvêa Junqueira

"Typically, viruses infect cells in order to reproduce freely and then spread to other parts of

To draw these conclusions, the researchers conducted two different experiments

After stem cell experiments, the researchers used infected neurospheres (organoids cultured in the lab to mimic the morphology and function of parts of the brain) to observe what

To compare the results, they repeated experiments on neural stem cells and neurospheres infected by dengue fever and African Zika virus, two viruses that typically do not infect brain cells or cause microcephaly

In experiments involving neural stem cells, the Brazilian Zika virus behaved very differently

They also behave differently

myelin sheath

According to martin-de-souza, viruses have various effects

"These proteins are essential

The myelin sheath is like an insulating layer around a wire, he explains

Axons are part of neurons that are responsible for transmitting nerve impulses to other neurons or muscle or glandular cells