Zika virus study reveals possible causes of brain pathology

In healthy individuals, the Zika virus causes flu-like symptoms. If a pregnant woman becomes infected, the unborn child can suffer from severe brain abnormalities as a result of mechanisms that have not yet been explained. A study by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPI-B) shows that Zika virus proteins bind to cellular proteins that are required for neural development. A few years ago, Zika virus spread across South America, posing a health issue with global impact. A significant number of South American women who came into contact with the virus for the first time at the start of their pregnancy by a mosquito bite subsequently gave birth to children with severe disabilities. The babies suffered from a condition known as microcephaly; they were born with a brain that was too small. This can lead to intellectual disabilities and other serious neurological disorders. Scientists succeeded...