Clinical and Preclinical Evidence for Adverse Neurodevelopment after Postnatal Zika Virus Infection

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jessica Raper, Emory University; Ann Chahroudi, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-03-01
• Publisher: MDPI
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed6010010
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
• Volume: 6
• Issue: 1
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was also supported by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (R01 NS120182; to A.C. and J.R.).; The funding for this study was provided by the Pilot Grant Program of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, which is supported by the National Institutes of Health’s Office of the Director, Office of Research Infrastructures Programs, P51 OD011132, and the Center for Childhood Infections and Vaccines of Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (to A.C.).
• Keywords: rhesus macaque; cognition; emotion; Tropical Medicine; Birth; Disease; Science & Technology; MRI; social; Cortisol; pediatric; neonatal; Infectious Diseases; Brain development; postnatal; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; flavivirus; Parasitology; Infant rhesus macaques; Defensive behaviors; Children; Stem cells; Recognition memory; White matter development
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Human Development; Biology, Neuroscience; Biology, Virology; Health Sciences, Epidemiology

Abstract

Although the Zika virus (ZIKV) typically causes mild or no symptoms in adults, during the 2015−2016 outbreak, ZIKV infection in pregnancy resulted in a spectrum of diseases in infants, including birth defects and neurodevelopmental disorders identified in childhood. While intense clinical and basic science research has focused on the neurodevelopmental outcomes of prenatal ZIKV infection, less is known about the consequences of infection during early life. Considering the neurotropism of ZIKV and the rapidly-developing postnatal brain, it is important to understand how infection during infancy may disrupt neurodevelopment. This paper reviews the current knowledge regarding early postnatal ZIKV infection. Emerging clinical evidence supports the hypothesis that ZIKV infection during infancy can result in negative neurologic consequences. However, clinical data regarding postnatal ZIKV infection in children are limited; as such, animal models play an important role in understanding the potential complications of ZIKV infection related to the vulnerable developing brain. Preclinical data provide insight into the potential behavioral, cognitive, and motor domains that clinical studies should examine in pediatric populations exposed to ZIKV during infancy.