Autophagy in Zika Virus Infection: A Possible Therapeutic Target to Counteract Viral Replication

Zika virus (ZIKV) still constitutes a public health concern, however, no vaccines or therapies are currently approved for treatment. A fundamental process involved in ZIKV infection is autophagy, a cellular catabolic pathway delivering cytoplasmic cargo to the lysosome for degradation—cons...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Rossella Gratton, Almerinda Agrelli, Paola Maura Tricarico, Lucas Brandão, Sergio Crovella
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2019-02-01
Series:International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/5/1048
Description
Summary:Zika virus (ZIKV) still constitutes a public health concern, however, no vaccines or therapies are currently approved for treatment. A fundamental process involved in ZIKV infection is autophagy, a cellular catabolic pathway delivering cytoplasmic cargo to the lysosome for degradation—considered as a primordial form of innate immunity against invading microorganisms. ZIKV is thought to inhibit the Akt-mTOR signaling pathway, which causes aberrant activation of autophagy promoting viral replication and propagation. It is therefore appealing to study the role of autophagic molecular effectors during viral infection to identify potential targets for anti-ZIKV therapeutic intervention.
ISSN:1422-0067