| Congresso Brasileiro de Microbiologia 2023 | Resumo: 808-1 | ||||
Resumo:Zika virus (ZIKV) is an arbovirus(ssRNA(+)) belonging to the Flavivirus genus of Flaviviridae family. It is an enveloped virus, icosahedral measuring from 40 nm to 60 nm in diameter. ZIKV is transmitted by the bite of hematophagous arthropods of the species Aedes. ZIKV was discovered accidentally in 1947, during a study on Yellow Fever, in the Zika forest in Uganda (Africa). After some reports of transmission in Africa, it spread to other countries, affecting thousands of people. ZIKV was introduced in Brazil between May and December 2013, in the period that occurred the Confederations Cup. Due to the fact that most ZIKV infections are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms, it is believed that ZIKV circulated in the Northeast region, without being detected. In 2015, the Center for Epidemiology observed a significant increase in babies born with microcephaly notifications in the same areas where ZIKV was reported months earlier. It has been reported that some adult patients developed Guillain-Barre syndrome; ocular changes, specifically in the retina and choroid. The objective of this study was to investigate the ultrastructural aspects of ZIKV in SIRC cells at different periods of infection in order to understand the possible relationship between ZIKV infection and eye disorder. SIRC cells (epithelial corneal Rabbit Cell - ATCC CL 60) were infected with ZIKV (from the virus collection deposit of the Virology Center of the Adolfo Lutz Institute, number BR310161) and processed after 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, 96 hours and 9 days by the Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) technique. Our results showed ultrastructural changes in ZIKV-infected SIRC cells. A characteristic of positive- stranded chain RNA viruses is to induce membrane system changes, such as: electron dense mitochondria and cristae changes; presence of double or single membrane vesicles or vacuoles with or without viruses; presence of parallel tubular structures and dilated areas of the RE .These changes showed that ZIKV, like other positive-stranded RNA virus, depends on organelles and metabolites of the SIRC cell for successful infection and viral replication. The results presented in this study highlight the importance of deeper investigations on intracellular changes caused by ZIKV, especially in SIRC cells, since some patients infected with this virus have very severe ophthalmologic symptons. Palavras-chave: SIRC cell, Zika virus, Transmission electronic microscopy | |||||