Embryonic Stage of Congenital Zika Virus Infection Determines Fetal and Postnatal Outcomes in Mice

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy causes a wide spectrum of congenital abnormalities and postnatal developmental sequelae such as fetal loss, intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), microcephaly, or motor and neurodevelopmental disorders. Here, we investigated whether a mouse pregnancy model recapitulated a wide range of symptoms after congenital ZIKV infection, and whether the embryonic age of congenital infection changed the fetal or postnatal outcomes. Infection with ZIKV strain PRVABC59 from embryonic day 6.5 (E6.5) to E8.5, corresponding to the mid-first trimester in humans, caused fetal death, fetal resorption, or severe IUGR, whereas infection from E9.5 to E14.5, corresponding to the late-first to second trimester in humans, caused stillbirth, neonatal death, microcephaly, and postnatal growth deficiency. Furthermore, 4-week-old offspring born to dams infected at E12.5 showed abnormalities in neuropsychiatric state, motor behavior, autonomic function, or reflex and sensory function. Thus, our model recapitulated the multiple symptoms seen in human cases, and the embryonic age of congenital infection was one of the determinant factors of offspring outcomes in mice. Furthermore, maternal neutralizing antibodies protected the offspring from neonatal death after congenital infection at E9.5, suggesting that neonatal death in our model could serve as criteria for screening of vaccine candidates.