Gene expression responses to Zika virus infection in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from pregnant and non-pregnant women

Abstract

Congenital Zika syndrome is caused by mother-to-fetus transmission of the Zika virus (ZIKV). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) are permissive to ZIKV infection and may carry ZIKV to the placenta. To identify pregnancy-related differences in PBMC responses against ZIKV infection, we compared gene expression profiles of ZIKV-infected and non-infected PBMCs cultured from pregnant and non-pregnant women. ZIKV-infected pregnant conditions generally overexpressed M1-shifted pro-inflammatory responses and underexpressed M2-shifted anti-inflammatory responses. Additionally, transcripts involved in osteoclast differentiation and cardiac myopathies were upregulated following ZIKV infection. Our results suggest potential roles of pregnancy-induced immune dysregulation in shaping neonatal pathology associated with ZIKV infection.