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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : July 21, 2016 4:51 PM IST
Scientists for long now have been trying to develop ways and treatment to curb the spread of Zika virus. The disease that wreaked havoc in South and Central America at the beginning of 2016 is transmitted by the bite of the Aedes Aegypti mosquito and has been linked to microcephaly, a condition where babies are born with a small head. The disease can also spread through mother to child transmission and scientist now, have found out a way to prevent it. Researchers at the UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley have found that Zika virus can infect different cell types in the human placenta and amniotic sac. They have also identified a drug that may be able to block this infection.
The study says that the virus can access the developing foetus via two routes, a placental route that is established in the first trimester and a through the amniotic sac which is possible in the second trimester.
In vitro studies found that an older generation antibiotic called duramycin could block the virus from multiplying in the cells that help in transporting the virus via both routes. Researcher Lenore Pereira explained that very few viruses reach the foetus during pregnancy and cause birth defects. And the answer to protecting the foetus from the virus lies in understanding how some viruses can reach the foetus. Here s more on the test to detect Zika designed by Brazillian scientists.
Duramycin is an antibiotic that bacteria produce to fight off other bacteria. It is commonly used in animals and is in clinical trials for people with cystic fibrosis. Recent studies have shown it to be effective in cell culture experiments against dengue and West Nile virus, which are flaviviruses like Zika, as well as filoviruses, like Ebola. The virus infects several different placental cell types when examined in isolated cells and as intact tissue explants. These include cell types within the placenta and outside the placenta in the fetal membranes. The scientists found that the epithelial cells of the amniotic membrane surrounding the fetus were particularly susceptible to Zika virus infection. Zika virus also uses other receptors, including Axl and Tyro3, which are found in various placental cells. However, the investigators found that only TIM1 was strongly and consistently expressed in placental cell types throughout gestation. Click on the link to know more about how the zika virus spreads.
TIM1 binds to phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), a membrane lipid present in the Zika virus envelope that is also present in dengue, West Nile and Ebola. Duramycin, a 19-amino acid cyclic small molecule, binds to PE in the virion envelope, and by doing so it can block these viruses from latching onto the TIM1 receptor to get into cells. The scientists found that duramycin blocked infection of all the placental and fetal membrane cell types they tested, including cytotrophoblasts and amniotic epithelial cells, as well as chorionic villus explants. What's more, the infection was substantially blocked at relatively low concentrations of the drug. The study has been published in Cell Host & Microbe. Here s more on the six symptoms of zika viral disease everyone should know.
Source: ANI
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