Prior dengue virus serotype 3 infection modulates subsequent plasmablast responses to Zika virus infection in rhesus macaques.

Unlabelled: Immunodominant and highly conserved flavivirus envelope proteins can trigger cross-reactive IgG antibodies against related flaviviruses, which shapes subsequent protection or disease severity. This study examined how prior dengue serotype 3 (DENV-3) infection affects subsequent Zika virus (ZIKV) plasmablast responses in rhesus macaques ( = 4). We found that prior DENV-3 infection was not associated with diminished ZIKV-neutralizing antibodies or magnitude of plasmablast activation.

Electrophysiological Properties of Tetraploid Cardiomyocytes Derived from Murine Pluripotent Stem Cells Generated by Fusion of Adult Somatic Cells with Embryonic Stem Cells.

Most cardiomyocytes (CMs) in the adult mammalian heart are either binucleated or contain a single polyploid nucleus. Recent studies have shown that polyploidy in CMs plays an important role as an adaptive response to physiological demands and environmental stress and correlates with poor cardiac regenerative ability after injury. However, knowledge about the functional properties of polyploid CMs is limited.

Frequent first-trimester pregnancy loss in rhesus macaques infected with African-lineage Zika virus.

In the 2016 Zika virus (ZIKV) pandemic, a previously unrecognized risk of birth defects surfaced in babies whose mothers were infected with Asian-lineage ZIKV during pregnancy. Less is known about the impacts of gestational African-lineage ZIKV infections. Given high human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) burdens in regions where African-lineage ZIKV circulates, we evaluated whether pregnant rhesus macaques infected with simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) have a higher risk of African-lineage ZIKV-associated birth defects.

Fetal loss in pregnant rhesus macaques infected with high-dose African-lineage Zika virus.

Countermeasures against Zika virus (ZIKV), including vaccines, are frequently tested in nonhuman primates (NHP). Macaque models are important for understanding how ZIKV infections impact human pregnancy due to similarities in placental development. The lack of consistent adverse pregnancy outcomes in ZIKV-affected pregnancies poses a challenge in macaque studies where group sizes are often small (4-8 animals).