Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently developed a mouse model to study the transmission of the Zika virus through sexual contact and vertically from mother to fetus.
The scientists from NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will use the model to study how and when the virus spreads and research potential treatments that block transmission.
Because mice have a stronger interferon response that defends against the Zika virus, researchers used specialized mice known as anti-interferon Rag (AIR) mice. Researchers suppressed the interferon in these mice, which also lack the ability to produce T cells or B cells. This caused them to have prolonged virus infection in the testes, similar to what occurs in human males. This allowed the researchers to study the sexual transmission of the virus.
The researchers also found that Zika transmission occurred in only some of the fetuses from each female. This shows that the placenta may be the most influential factor in preventing Zika from reaching the fetus.
The study also detected Zika in lymph node tissue, in addition to brain tissue.
The researchers noted that while no licensed vaccines or treatments for the Zika virus currently exist, many potential treatments are under development.