Abstract
Zika virus (ZIKV) has emerged globally as an important pathogen, since it has been recognized as a cause of microcephaly and other neurologic processes and sequalae in newborns. The virus shares homology with Hepaciviruses and therefore may be a cause of hepatitis. We sought to characterize ZIKV replication in hepatocyte-derived cell lines. Huh7.5 and HepG2 cells were infected with ZIKV and replication potential was evaluated by multiple methods including plaque assay, qRT-PCR, negative-strand ZIKV RNA production, and ZIKV NS1 protein production. Growth curves in cells and supernatant were compared to replicative capacity in Vero cells. Overall, viral replication in both hepatocyte lines approximated that observed in the Vero cells. Cell cytopathology was observed after 3 days of infection and apoptosis markers increased. Transmission electron microscopy revealed evidence of viral capsids in cells and negative staining revealed ZIKV particles in the supernatant. Conclusions: Hepatocyte-derived cell lines are permissive for ZIKV replication and produce an overt cytopathic effect consistent with development of an acute viral hepatitis. Further evaluation of replication and injury is warranted.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | e0214016 |
| Journal | PloS one |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2019 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2019 Sherman et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
