March 28, 2024

Researchers find how zika virus leaves pregnant mother to baby

US researchers devised a cell-based type man’s placenta that might help let you know that pathogens that cause birth defects coming from Zika virus cross from mother for the baby. The model can often experiment different biological factors to determine what might allow an infectious agent for getting over the placental barrier towards the foetus.

‘With our new model from the research toolkit, we and other scientists dream to advance our comprehension of the placenta, examine its function, and discover how it could prevent most, though not all, maternal infections from causing problems for the baby,’ said Carolyn Coyne, associate professor at University of Pittsburgh, US. Read how zika virus also can cause stillbirths.

The researchers cultured a team of human placental cells in a microgravity bioreactor system manufactured by NASA. Cells in addition to blood vessel cells were included to small beads, that spun around a container stuffed with cell culture fluid. The scientists been able to result in the cells to fuse to produce syncytiotrophoblasts – resembling the cells lining the outermost layer of human placental tissue. Brazilian scientists detect zika virus in another commonly found mosquito, Culex.

Next, they tested the important properties of these model by exposing it with a virus and to Toxoplasma gondi – a parasite that may lead to foetal infection, causing miscarriage, congenital disease and, or disability in later life. They found that the syncytiotrophoblasts formed in human system recapitulated the barrier properties in the organic cells and they resisted infection by using a model virus and three genetically different strains of Toxoplasma.

The human placenta differs from the others and unlike that relate to other mammals. This can be a complex and poorly understood organ that anchors the developing foetus towards uterus, nourishes the newborn, and a barrier into the spread of micro-organisms from an infected mother to the foetus. Having the placenta might lead to approaches to prevent foetal damage from the so-called TORCH infections: toxoplasmosis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, herpes and HIV, the researchers concluded inside study published in Science Advances.