Scientific Reports (Jan 2021)

Prenatal disorders and congenital Zika syndrome in squirrel monkeys

  • Aline Amaral Imbeloni,
  • Bianca Nascimento de Alcantara,
  • Leandro Nassar Coutinho,
  • Sarah Raphaella Rocha de Azevedo Scalercio,
  • Liliane Almeida Carneiro,
  • Karol Guimarães Oliveira,
  • Arnaldo Jorge Martins Filho,
  • Darlene de Brito Simith Durans,
  • Wellington Bandeira da Silva,
  • Bruno Tardelli Diniz Nunes,
  • Livia Medeiros Neves Casseb,
  • Jannifer Oliveira Chiang,
  • Carlos Alberto Marques de Carvalho,
  • Mariana Borges Machado,
  • Juarez Antônio Simões Quaresma,
  • Daniele Barbosa de Almeida Medeiros,
  • Pedro Fernando da Costa Vasconcelos

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82028-3
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 11

Abstract

Read online

Abstract During the Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak in Brazil (2015–2016), the clinical manifestations associated with its infection were complex and included miscarriage and congenital malformations, not previously described. In this study, we evaluated the prenatal conditions of pregnant female squirrel monkeys (Saimiri collinsi) infected during different gestational thirds (GTs) and assessed all clinical aspects, diagnostic imaging, viremia and the immune response. In our study, 75% of the infected animals in the 1st GT group had significant clinical manifestations, such as miscarriage and prolonged viremia associated with a late immune response. Consequently, their neonates showed fetal neuropathology, such as cerebral hemorrhage, lissencephaly or malformations of the brain grooves, ventriculomegaly, and craniofacial malformations. Thus, our study demonstrated the relevance of pregnant squirrel monkeys as a model for the study of ZIKV infection in neonates due to the broad clinical manifestations presented, including the typical congenital Zika syndrome manifestations described in humans.