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Zika Virus Update by olsamlaw(m): 1:22am On May 09, 2016 |
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, May 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The
terrible birth defects caused by Zika virus appear
to be the result of an immune system response
that triggers prenatal brain cell suicide and
obstructs fetal brain development, a new lab
study reports.
The virus apparently activates an immune
receptor called TLR3, which the body uses to
identify and defend against invading viruses, said
lead researcher Tariq Rana. He is a professor of
pediatrics and genetics at the University of
California, San Diego.
The hyper-activated TLR3 then proceeds to turn
off genes that fetal stem cells need to specialize
into brain cells, and appears to switch on genes
that trigger cell suicide, Rana said.
"We all have an innate immune system that
evolved specifically to fight off viruses, but here
the virus turns that very same defense
mechanism against us," Rana explained. "By
activating TLR3, the Zika virus blocks genes that
tell stem cells to develop into the various parts of
the brain."
These findings help explain how Zika causes
microcephaly , an abnormally small brain and skull
development, and other neonatal brain-related
birth defects, Rana said. They also show why
there's no similar effect in adults, since their
brains are already fully developed.
There's also good news for the potential
prevention of brain birth defects due to Zika.
Rana and his team successfully blocked this
process in laboratory stem cell samples by using
a chemical that inhibits the action of TLR3.
A drug that safely blocks TLR3 could possibly
save babies from birth defects if given to Zika-
infected women during the early stages of
pregnancy , he said.
"If some mom comes into the clinic and the
doctor thinks there is a Zika infection established,
you could give this med, and once the first
trimester is done, you can take them off the med,"
Rana suggested.
Zika is the first mosquito -borne virus ever proven
to cause birth defects, according to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
To figure out why this happens, Rana and his
team used human embryonic stem cells to create
a laboratory model of a first-trimester human
brain, also called a "cerebral organoid." The
model's stem cells were designed to specialize
and grow into the various different cells in the
brain, much the same as they do during a fetus '
first trimester. |
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