In:

Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS)

Authors:

Megan A. Sheridan, Dinar Yunusov, Velmurugan Balaraman, Andrei P. Alexenkoa, Shinichiro Yabe, Sergio Verjovski-Almeida, Danny J. Schust, Alexander Franz, Yoel Sadovskyh, Toshihiko Ezashi and R. Michael Roberts

Significance

We have tested the hypothesis that the placenta of early pregnancy might be more easily breached by the Zika virus (ZIKV) than the relatively resistant outer cells of the mature placenta. Colonies of placental lineage cells derived from embryonic stem cells, which are probably analogous to the primitive placenta at implantation, were lysed more rapidly by an African strain of ZIKV, considered relatively benign, than by an Asian strain linked to fetal brain abnormalities. We conclude that the human fetus may be most vulnerable to ZIKV very early in pregnancy and that the African strain may threaten a pregnancy more strongly than previously believed.

Download full publication: