Zika virus vertical transmission in interferon receptor1-antagonized Rag1(−/−) mice results in postnatal brain abnormalities and clinical disease

The mechanisms by which vertically transmitted Zika virus (ZIKV) causes postnatal brain development abnormalities and congenital disease remain poorly understood. Here, we optimized the established anti-IFNAR1 treated, Rag1(−/−) (AIR) mouse model of ZIKV infection to examine the consequence of vertical transmission on neonate survival and postnatal brain development. We found that modulating the infectious dose and the frequency of anti-IFNAR1 treatment of pregnant mice (termed AIR(low) mice) prolonged neonatal survival allowing for pathogenesis studies of brain tissues at critical postnatal time points. Postnatal AIR(low) mice all had chronic ZIKV infection in the brain that was associated with decreased cortical thickness and cerebellar volume, increased gliosis, and higher levels of cell death in many brain areas including cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum when compared to controls. Interestingly, despite active infection and brain abnormalities, the neurodevelopmental program remained active in AIR(low) mice as indicated by elevated mRNA expression of critical neurodevelopmental genes in the brain and enlargement of neural-progenitor rich regions of the cerebellum at a developmental time point analogous to birth in humans. Nevertheless, around the developmental time point when the brain is fully populated by neurons, AIR(low) mice developed neurologic disease associated with persistent ZIKV infection in the brain, gliosis, and increased cell death. Together, these data show that vertically transmitted ZIKV infection in the brain of postnatal AIR(low) mice strongly influences brain development resulting in structural abnormalities and cell death in multiple regions of the brain. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40478-022-01351-6.