Simons-Backed Study Shows Neural Stem Cells in Adult Mice Also Vulnerable to Zika
Zika infection kills off neural stem cells in adult mice bred to be vulnerable to the virus, researchers at the Rockefeller University and the La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology report in Cell Stem Cell. It has yet to be studied whether the death of these cells has any short or long-term effects in the rodents.
Most human adults don’t show symptoms when infected with Zika, aside from a fever or rash. Increased incidence of Guillain-Barré Syndrome has been associated with the virus, raising questions about whether Zika has a negative impact on the adult brain. The virus is known to be particularly attracted to neural stem cells, but adults have smaller populations of these cells compared with a developing embryo...