Host-Virus Interaction of ZIKA Virus in Modulating Disease Pathogenesis

Abstract

The Zika virus (ZIKV) is a newly emerging pathogen that has resulted in a worldwide epidemic. It primarily spreads either through infected Aedes aegypti or Aedes albopictus mosquitos leading to severe neurological disorders such as microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome in susceptible individuals. The mode of ZIKV entry into specific cell types such as: epidermal keratinocytes, fibroblasts, immature dendritic cells (iDCs), and stem-cell-derived human neural progenitors has been determined through its major surface envelope glycoprotein. It has been known that oligosaccharides that are covalently linked to viral envelope proteins are crucial in defining host-virus interactions. However, the role of sugars/glycans in exploiting host-immune mechanisms and aiding receptor-mediated virus entry is not well defined. Therefore, this review focuses on host-pathogen-interactions to better understand ZIKV pathogenesis.

Structural view of the helicase reveals thatZika virususes a conserved mechanism for unwinding RNA

“…Similar to many other flaviviruses, ZIKV is primarily transmitted to humans via mosquitoes. Mosquito bites deposit the virus in the epidermis and dermis, where the virus gains entry into keratinocytes and fibroblasts (Routhu & Byrareddy, 2017;Aziz et al, 2017). Inside the cells, a single polypeptide chain is translated from the viral genome.…”

New Targets forZikaVirus Determined by Human-Viral Interactomic: A Bioinformatics Approach

“…One of the proteins important in this process is structural E protein with plays a role in receptor binding, viral entry, and membrane fusion, whereas prM assists in folding, assembly, and function of the E protein [ 9 , 11 ]. The ZIKV uses the envelope (E) glycoprotein for entry into specific cell types such as epidermal keratinocytes, fibroblasts, immature dendritic cells, and stem-cell-derived human neural progenitors [ 12 ]. Sequence comparisons of the E glycoprotein of ZIKV with the other members of the Flaviviridae family indicate an unusual degree of variability including glycosylation within the ZIKV strains [ 12 ].…”

“…The ZIKV uses the envelope (E) glycoprotein for entry into specific cell types such as epidermal keratinocytes, fibroblasts, immature dendritic cells, and stem-cell-derived human neural progenitors [ 12 ]. Sequence comparisons of the E glycoprotein of ZIKV with the other members of the Flaviviridae family indicate an unusual degree of variability including glycosylation within the ZIKV strains [ 12 ]. These differences in glycosylation may determine a characteristic affinity for human target proteins.…”

“…Another molecule identified as an entry factor for DENV is AXL [ 14 ] which belongs to the TYRO3 AXL MER (TAM) family, a group of tyrosine kinase receptors involved in the clearance of apoptotic cells and regulation of innate immunity [ 15 , 16 ]. However, for ZIKV, some studies confirm that AXL is not the key receptor for the viral infection of human neural progenitor cells [ 12 , 17 – 20 ].…”

Bioinformatics as a Tool to Identify Infectious Disease Pathogen Peptide Sequences as Targets for Antibody Engineering

“…Bioinformatics as a Tool to Identify Infectious Disease Pathogen Peptide Sequences as Targets… http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.71011 reticulum with protein prM and forms a heterodimer. Galanin's similarity with the ZIKA polypeptide could subsequently affect neural regulation of muscle function and play a role in immune evasion pathogenesis and viral replication[33].…”