Maternal-Fetal Transmission of Zika Virus and Therapeutic Approaches in Development to Prevent It

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y. - June 5, 2017 - PRLog -- The devastating effects of Zika virus on the brain of the developing fetus during infection in pregnancy have led to intensive research to understand the routes of Zika virus transmission and how the virus travels to and infects the fetus. What researchers have learned about how Zika virus impacts pregnancy and neonatal outcomes and the promise of new therapeutic interventions are presented in a comprehensive review article published in Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR) from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/). The article is available free on the JICR (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jir.2017.0011) website until June 26, 2017.

In the article entitled "Maternal-Fetal Transmission of Zika Virus: Routes and Signals for Infection (http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/jir.2017.0011)," coauthors Bin Cao, Michael Diamond, and Indira Mysorekar, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, discuss Zika virus transmission in pregnancy -- whether a woman becomes infected from a mosquito or via sexual contact with an infected person -- how the virus reaches the intrauterine space and infects the fetus, and its negative effects on pregnancy outcomes that may include miscarriage, microcephaly and other serious brain abnormalities or birth defects in the neonate. The authors also present the latest research on the development of therapies aimed at blocking Zika virus transmission from mother to fetus.

"This is a very informative and timely article on Zika virus transmission, currently a major threat to public health," says Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research Co-Editor-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH.

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institutes of Health under Award Numbers R01 AI073755, R01AI104972, and P01AI106695. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

About the Journal
Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research (JICR), (http://www.liebertpub.com/jir) led by Co-Editors-in-Chief Ganes C. Sen, PhD and Thomas A. Hamilton, PhD, Department of Immunology, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published monthly online with open access options and in print that covers all aspects of interferons and cytokines from basic science to clinical applications. Journal of Interferon & Cytokine Research is an official journal of the International Cytokine & Interferon Society (http://cytokinesociety.org/). Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the JICR (http://www.liebertpub.com/jir) website.

About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/) is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Viral Immunology, AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses, and DNA and Cell Biology. Its biotechnology trade magazine, GEN (Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News), was the first in its field and is today the industry's most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm's 80 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers (http://www.liebertpub.com/) website.