Scientists prove Zika virus causes microcephaly
Florida State University researchers found that the Zika virus targets cells in the brain and causes microcephaly, as observed in infected babies.
Hengli Tang, professor of biological science at FSU, is a lead author of the study published today (March 4) in the academic journal Cell Stem Cell.
“We’re trying to fill the knowledge gap between infection and the neurological defects,” Tang said. “This research is the very first step in that, but it’s answering a critical question. It enables us to focus the research. Now you can be studying the virus in the right cell type, screening your drugs on the right cell type and studying the biology of the right cell type.”
Though the Zika virus was discovered in 1947, there is very little known about how it works and its potential health implications, especially among pregnant women. Anecdotal evidence has suggested a link to microcephaly, a condition where a child is born with an abnormally small head as a result of incomplete brain development.
Tang, along with researchers at Johns Hopkins University and Emory University, found that the virus directly targets a cell type called human embryonic cortical neural progenitors in as little as three days after being exposed to the virus. They also discovered that these infected cells replicate the Zika virus, posing potential treatment problems, and that the virus is directly interfering with cell growth and function. Some of the cells died after being infected.
“Potentially, this could explain why there is a link to microcephaly, but there is a lot more work needed to show the direct causal effect,” said Guo-Li Ming, professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University.
“It’s significant because we’re literally the first people in the world to know this, to know that this virus can infect these very important cells and interfere with their function,” Tang said. “Research is rewarding in general, but when you have something this timely and this clinically relevant, it’s extra satisfying because we’ll be helping people in the long run.”
