Working with Zika and Usutu Viruses In Vitro

Abstract

Usutu (USUV) and Zika (ZIKV) viruses are emerging arboviruses of significant medical and veterinary importance. These viruses have not been studied as well as other medically important arboviruses such as West Nile (WNV), dengue (DENV), or chikungunya (CHIKV) viruses. As such, information regarding the behavior of ZIKV and USUV viruses in the laboratory is dated. Usutu virus re-emerged in Austria in 2001 and has since spread throughout the European and Asian continents causing significant mortality among birds. Zika virus has recently appeared in the Western Hemisphere and has exhibited high rates of birth defects and sexual transmission. Information about the characteristics of USUV and ZIKV viruses are needed to better understand the transmission, dispersal, and adaptation of these viruses in new environments. Since their initial characterization in the middle of last century, technologies and reagents have been developed that could enhance our abilities to study these pathogens. Currently, standard laboratory methods for these viruses are limited to 2–3 cell lines and many assays take several days to generate meaningful data. The goal of this study was to characterize these viruses in cells from multiple diverse species. Cell lines from 17 species were permissive to both ZIKV and USUV. These viruses were able to replicate to significant titers in most of the cell lines tested. Moreover, cytopathic effects were observed in 8 of the cell lines tested. These data indicate that a variety of cell lines can be used to study ZIKV and USUV infection and may provide an updated foundation for the study of host-pathogen interactions, model development, and the development of therapeutics.

Highly Sensitive, Engineered Magnetic Nanosensors to Investigate the Ambiguous Activity of Zika Virus and Binding Receptors

“…PS has been associated with apoptotic mimicry and host-cell entry in a number of viruses, including other flaviviruses 25 – 27 , and may therefore have a role in ZIKV binding and entry. Finally, in contrast to other flaviviruses, ZIKV remains infective at a wider range of temperatures 22 and pH values 23 , which have been further characterized in this work.…”

“…In addition to studying the interactions between these receptors and ZENV, we wished to examine parameters that affect the binding process, such as the presence of crizotinib (Cz) or phosphatidylserine (PS), as well as the effects of temperature 22 and pH 23 . Cz is an ATP mimic that has been shown to interfere with AXL kinase activity 24 .…”

Antibodies for Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Protect Embryoid Bodies from Chikungunya Virus

“…The data showed that CHIKV can replicate in maternal and fetal placental cells as well as in EBs. Previous work has shown that the ability for CHIKV to infect and replicate in specific cells types is host-specific as has been shown for multiple flaviviruses [37][38][39]. Thus, it is necessary to identify which cells participate in viral pathogenesis.…”

Antibodies for Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus Protect Embryoid Bodies from Chikungunya Virus

“…Previous work has shown that the ability for CHIKV to infect and replicate in specific cells types is host specific thus, it is necessary to identify which cells participate in viral pathogenesis [23]. This has also been shown for multiple flaviviruses [24,25]. Reports on CHIKV replication efficiency in mammals and cell lines have shown a range of detection depending on the host [26,27].…”