Zika virus (ZIKV) belongs to the Flaviviridae family. However, compared to most members of this Family and Genus (e.g., Dengue virus) ZIKV is an atypical virus. Also, unlike all other arboviruses (arthropod-borne-virus) it can be transmitted not only by mosquitoes but by sexual and vertical transmission. Unlike all other closely related viruses, infection during pregnancy can cause serious congenital syndromes in the fetus. Furthermore, there is evidence that years after infection an adult can present cognitive and learning disabilities associated with ZIKV. This brief description of the consequences of ZIKV infection highlight the importance of studying the neurovirulence of this virus during neural development.

​

There are multiple ways to study the neurovirulence of ZIKV. We have decided to join efforts with Prof. Claudia G. Castillo-Martin del Campo to develop a research program that aims at understanding the biochemical, neurochemical, functional, and structural consequences of ZIKV infection in neural cells. This project Edson I. Rubio-Hernandez´s Ph.D. thesis. His work focuses on studying ZIKV neurovirulence on human neural stem cells, before, during, and after differentiation. Together we have built a collaborative effort with two other Mexican Universities to tackle this problem from different angles. The collaborators of this project are Prof. Adriana Monsivais Urenda, M.Sc. Mayra Colunga-Saucedo and Miguel Angel Coronado Ipiña, all from UASLP, Profs. Fernando Peña-Ortega and Verónica Rodríguez-Córdova from the UNAM and Prof. Yamilé López-Hernández from UAZ.