Evasion strategies of Zika virus antagonizing host innate immunity

Abstract

Zika virus is a small enveloped positive-strand RNA virus, which belongs to the Flaviviridae family. The RNA genome of all flaviviruses encodes three structural and seven nonstructural genes, together with 5′- and 3′-untranslated region genes flanking. Accompanying the explosive nature of the Zika outbreak in 2014, there was a devastating congenital neurodevelopmental disease in fetuses. Apart from viral RNA replication, polyprotein cleavage, Zika virus nonstructural proteins also play vital roles in the host's innate immune evasion. In this brief report, we summarize the evasion mechanisms of the viral nonstructural proteins antagonizing host antiviral innate immunity.