US researchers have pinpointed Zika virus spreading secretly in placental cells, disrupting the immune system and resulting in foetal death. Pregnant women infected with Zika, transmitted by mosquitoes, risk neurological disorders, foetal abnormalities, and death. How the virus breaches the placental barrier, vital for foetal protection, was unclear until now.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Pennsylvania State University discovered that the Zika virus builds tunnels, called tunnelling nanotubes, to transfer viral particles to nearby uninfected cells. They identified the Zika protein NS1 as the key player in tunnel formation, enabling the virus to infect new cells. Dr. Rafael T. Michita explained that exposure to NS1 triggers tunnel creation in placental cells, influencing cell-to-cell transmission. Notably, Zika, unlike other viruses in the same family such as dengue and West Nile, uniquely utilizes these tunnels across multiple cell types.
In placental cells, Zika virus, along with other viruses like HIV, herpes, influenza A, and SARS-CoV-2, can create tiny tunnels to spread to uninfected cells. The tunnels, observed for the first time in Zika infections, serve as pathways for moving viral particles, RNA, proteins, and mitochondria, essential for cellular energy transfer, between infected and neighboring cells, as revealed in a study published in Nature Communications.
The transportation of mitochondria through tunnels may enhance energy levels in virus-infected cells and aid Zika virus in evading placental antiviral defenses, as per the researcher. These insights could be crucial for developing targeted therapeutic strategies against this covert transmission method.
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