Vision researchers at the Wayne State University School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology at the Kresge Eye Institute are reportedly the first to show that the Zika virus (ZIKV) can replicate in the eye's retinal cells, causing severe tissue damage and, in some cases, even blindness.
Through the research, investigators were reportedly studied the interaction of ZIKV with retinal cells, finding they could replicate and survive within retinal cells, ultimately killing them. They also found ZIKV infection of a mouse eye resulted in chorioretinal atrophy, and the mouse model showed some features of ZIKV-infected human eye. Researchers believe this unique model will allow them to further study the molecular mechanisms of ocular ZIKV infection, as well as test drugs or new anti-viral molecules to treat the disease.
The research was recently published in the journal JCI Insight.
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Source: Wayne State University