Zika virus infection of the placenta
Examine the role of the innate immune response to Zika virus infection in the female reproductive tract (FRT) and placenta.
Zika virus (ZKV) is positive sense single stranded RNA virus of the Flaviviridae family and is related to Dengue, Yellow Fever and West Nile Virus. While discovered in the 1940’s it was not until an outbreak in 1996 in Brazil highlighted the devastating consequences that this virus can impart on the unborn foetus.
Most ZKV infections are short lived and cause mild flu-like symptoms, however infection during pregnancy can cause severe complications and birth defects (microcephaly), particularly when infection occurs in first trimester of pregnancy.
These pathologies demonstrate that ZIKV readily crosses the placental barrier to impact the health of the developing baby. Our knowledge on how this occurs, the cells infected and their response at the innate immune level is lacking.
With collaborators from the Placental Biology Laboratory at the Robinson Research Institute we are studying ZIKV infection of human placental explant tissues and isolated cells and the depth of the innate immune response in these tissues at different stages of gestation.
Understanding how the placenta is infected with ZIKV and the cells involved will help us understand how ZIKV can ultimately infect the fetus. In addition, ZIKV can also be transmitted buy sexual intercourse and infectious virus can be isolated in the semen for up to 6 moths post infection.
We are also studying, in collaboration with researchers at Hudson Institute of Medical Research, a novel type I interferon (IFN-epsilon) that is regulated hormonally specifically in the FRT. We are specifically interested in IFN-epsilon and its ability to control ZIKV replication during the early stages of pregnancy using both cell culture and moue models of ZIKV infection.
Study with the Viral Pathogenesis Research Laboratory
Infection of the cell with a virus results in an early innate immune response in which the cell attempts to either remove the virus or control its replication.
Our laboratory is interested in the cellular response to viral infection and genes and signaling pathways that are turned on and how viruses can overcome this response. In particular we study the Flaviviridae family of positive strand RNA viruses such as hepatitis C (HCV) dengue and Zika virus.
Using a combination of cell culture, mouse and human primary tissue models coupled with the latest genomic and biochemical approaches we aim to define the cellular response to viral infection of these medical important viruses.
Supervisors
Associate Professor Michael Beard
Co-supervisor: Dr Kylie Van der Hoek
Research area: Viral pathogenesis, Research Centre for Infectious Diseases
Recommended honours enrolment: Honours in Molecular and Biomedical Science