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Updated: Jan 4, 2026
Evaluation of Zika Virus-specific T-cell Responses in Immunoprivileged Organs of Infected Ifnar1-/- Mice
Published on: October 17, 2018
Immunological observations and transcriptomic analysis of trimester-specific full-term placentas from three Zika
Fok-Moon Lum1, Vipin Narang1, Susan Hue2,3
1Singapore Immunology Network Agency for Science, Technology and Research Singapore Singapore.
Objectives:
Effects of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection on placental development during pregnancy are unclear.
Methods:
Full-term placentas from three women, each infected with ZIKV during specific pregnancy trimesters, were harvested for anatomic, immunologic and transcriptomic analysis.
Results:
In this study, each woman exhibited a unique immune response with raised IL-1RA, IP-10, EGF and RANTES expression and neutrophil numbers during the acute infection phase. Although ZIKV NS3 antigens co-localised to placental Hofbauer cells, the placentas showed no anatomic defects. Transcriptomic analysis of samples from the placentas revealed that infection during trimester 1 caused a disparate cellular response centred on differential eIF2 signalling, mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative phosphorylation. Despite these, the babies were delivered without any congenital anomalies.
Conclusion:
These findings should translate to improve clinical prenatal screening procedures for virus-infected pregnant patients.
