Pathogenesis of Zika Virus-Associated Embryopathy

A strong causal association has become evident between Zika virus (ZIKV) infection during pregnancy and the occurrence of fetal growth restriction, microcephaly and eye defects. Circumstantial evidence is presented in this paper in support of the hypothesis that these effects, as well as the Guillain-Barré syndrome, are due to an endogenous form of hypervitaminosis A resulting from ZIKV infection-induced damage to the liver and the spillage of stored vitamin A compounds (“retinoids”) into the maternal and fetal circulation in toxic concentrations. Retinoids are mainly stored in the liver (about 80%) and are essential for numerous biological functions. In higher concentration, retinoids are potentially cytotoxic, pro-oxidant, mutagenic and teratogenic, especially if sudden shifts occur in their bodily distribution. Although liver involvement has not been mentioned specifically in recent reports, conventional liver enzyme tests underestimate the true extent of liver dysfunction. The proposed model could be tested by comparing retinoid concentration and expression profiles in microcephalic newborns of ZIKV-infected mothers and nonmicrocephalic newborn controls, and by correlating these profiles with measures of clinical severity.