Zika virus (ZIKV) infection of pregnant females results in congenital infection of offspring and long-term developmental birth defects. Using an immunocompetent mouse model that we developed (published in Nature Communications), we have shown that intrauterine infection with either African, American, or Asian strains of ZIKV during early, but not late, pregnancy causes infection of the placenta and fetuses, placental inflammation, neonatal cortical thinning, and short-term neurologic deficits in offspring. More recently, we have demonstrated that placental IL-1? concentrations are elevated in ZIKV-infected dams, and we can reverse the ZIKV-associated short-term neurobehavioral sequelae in offspring by blocking IL-1 receptor signaling during the infection. We hypothesize that placental inflammation following intrauterine ZIKV infection causes perinatal neurological injury, which can then be reversed by targeting maternal IL-1? signaling. While most ZIKV interventions focus on antivirals and vaccines to limit perinatal ZIKV infection, to date no studies have considered the role of maternal and placental inflammation as a mechanism mediating long-term adverse perinatal outcomes following ZIKV infection.
Specific Aim 1 will assess the mechanisms mediating elevated IL- 1? signaling in the placenta at different gestational ages following ZIKV infection, the long-term downstream effects of the placental immunopathology and placental IL-1? signaling, and whether these effects are sex- specific. In particular, Aim 1 will determine how placental inflammasome activation, IL-1? release, or engagement of the IL-1 receptor lead to adverse perinatal outcomes.
Specific Aim 2 will examine the importance of maternal as opposed to fetal IL-1? signaling in the pathogenesis of perinatal brain injury following ZIKV infection. Using embryo transfer of IL-1? signaling deficient and wild type mouse strains, Aim 2 will assess whether IL-1? activity of maternal origin is critical for sex-specific fetal brain injury. Our novel translational research proposal, utilizing a ZIKV model that we developed, will have a significant impact on perinatal medicine as it will lead to a better understanding of the role of placental inflammation in the pathogenesis of fetal congenital diseases caused by infection or other inflammatory states during pregnancy.
Using an intrauterine Zika virus infection model that we developed, we have shown that Zika virus infection during early pregnancy results in placental and fetal infection, placental inflammation, including increased placental concentrations of IL-1?, and adverse perinatal outcomes. Importantly, the adverse effects of maternal Zika virus infection can be blocked by administration of a Class B pregnancy drug, Kineret, that blocks the IL-1 receptor. We now seek to systematically examine the mechanisms mediating elevated IL-1? activity in the placenta and adverse perinatal outcomes, with consideration of whether these effects are of maternal origin and dependent on the sex of the fetuses.
