Head , Viral Pathogens and Biosafety Unit, San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, ITALY
Thursday 5 September 2019 | 12:00 noon – Trieste, ITALY
Subverting the mechanisms of cell death: Zika virus manipulation of host cell responses to infection
Host: A. Marcello
Zika virus (ZIKV) is an enveloped, single-stranded RNA virus that belongs to the flavivirus family that is transmitted through mosquito bites although it can be also transmitted by sexual route in a vector-independent manner. ZIKV infection has recently reemerged as public threat particularly as a cause of microcephaly in newborns. This pathological feature is consequent to ZIKV infection and ZIKV replication in human neural progenitor cells (hNPC) causes their death. The mechanisms of virus-induced death and potential approaches to subvert them will be discussed.