title: Zika virus as a causative agent for primary microencephaly: the evidence so far.
abstract: Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has been associated with congenital microcephaly and peripheral neuropathy. The ongoing epidemic has triggered swift responses in the scientific community, and a number of recent reports have now confirmed a causal relationship between ZIKV infection and birth defect. In particular, ZIKV has been shown to be capable of compromising and crossing the placental barrier and infect the developing fetal brain, resulting in the demise and functional impairment of neuroprogenitor cells critical for fetal cortex development. Here, the evidence for ZIKV as a teratogenic agent that causes microcephaly is reviewed, and its association with other disorders is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, MD7, 8 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117597, Singapore. bchtbl@nus.edu.sg.|NUS Graduate School for Integrative Sciences and Engineering, National University of Singapore, 28 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117456, Singapore. bchtbl@nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Bor Luen
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1925-636X
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Tang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000821:virology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008831:Microcephaly / Q000821:virology*; D058953:Neural Stem Cells / Q000821:virology*; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000821:virology; D010920:Placenta / Q000821:virology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013723:Teratogens; D000071244:Zika Virus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D000071243:Zika Virus Infection / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D013723:Teratogens
keywords: Microcephaly; Neuroprogenitor cells; Zika virus