Does Zika replicate in mosquitoes?
Zika virus is transmitted primarily through the bite of an infected female mosquito. Mosquitoes become infected when they bite a person who is infected with the virus. The virus then replicates and spreads within the mosquito so that when the infected mosquito bites again, the virus is spread to another person.
What is the connection between Zika virus and microcephaly?
Zika and Microcephaly Babies with microcephaly often have smaller brains that might not have developed properly. Zika virus infection during pregnancy is a cause of microcephaly. During pregnancy, a baby’s head grows because the baby’s brain grows.
What disease causes microcephaly that is spread by mosquitoes?
Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause infants to be born with microcephaly and other congenital malformations, known as congenital Zika syndrome.
How does virus cause microcephaly?
By preferentially destroying radial glial cells, Zika virus can produce severe microcephaly. Evolutionary changes such as mutations or recombination events might be responsible for the increased virulence and a new spectrum of Zika disease. Recombination events were reported to occur in different Zika viral strains.
Do mosquitoes spread the Zika virus to humans?
Zika virus is transmitted to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus). These are the same mosquitoes that spread dengue and chikungunya viruses.
Where do mosquitoes get Zika from?
People are the disease reservoir, meaning mosquitoes get Zika from an infected person during the first week of their symptoms. Mosquitoes can then spread the disease to other people through bites. There are three primary methods of Zika transmission: mosquito bite, mother to baby, and sexual transmission.
Can you outgrow microcephaly?
Microcephaly is a lifelong condition that has no cure. Treatment focuses on preventing or reducing problems and maximizing a child’s abilities. Children born with microcephaly need to see their healthcare team often. They will need tests to track the growth of the head.
How common is microcephaly with Zika?
Of the pregnant people infected with Zika virus, studies show that just 5%-14% give birth to children with signs of congenital Zika syndrome (which can cause developmental issues with their brains and vision), and a 4%-6% subset have children with microcephaly.
Can mosquitoes cause microcephaly?
The mosquito-borne virus can harm fetuses in utero and cause the brain condition microcephaly. Now, scientists have identified a genetic pathway that’s targeted by Zika and revealed one protein’s role in brain development.
What is considered microcephaly?
Microcephaly is a birth defect where a baby’s head is smaller than expected when compared to babies of the same sex and age. Babies with microcephaly often have smaller brains that might not have developed properly.
How is autophagy activated by ZIKV virus replication?
In the studies reported here, we demonstrate for the first time that ZIKV infection results in activation of both mTORC1 and mTORC2 to promote virus replication. Although autophagy is activated early in infection to counter virus replication, it is subsequently suppressed by mTOR.
What is the activation of mTORC1 in ZIKV?
Our results demonstrate that ZIKV replication requires the activation of both mTORC1 and mTORC2, which negatively regulates autophagy to facilitate ZIKV replication. IMPORTANCEThe re-emergence of Zika virus (ZIKV) and its association with neurological complications necessitates studies on the molecular mechanisms that regulate ZIKV pathogenesis.
How does rapamycin inhibit activation of mTOR Complex 1?
Here, we show that in human neuronal precursors and glial cells in culture, ZIKV infection activates both mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and mTORC2. Inhibition of mTOR kinase by Torin1 or rapamycin results in reduction in ZIKV protein expression and progeny production.