Cilia Signalling in Neural Development

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection, an Aedes mosquito-borne flavivirus, is declared a global threat for public health due to its association with congenital neurodevelopmental birth defects. Despite the enormous basic and clinical research efforts, no specific therapy has yet been approved for the treatment or prevention of ZIKV infection, thus a better understanding of its pathogenesis is an urgent need. Our recent studies of the effect of ZIKV non-structural (NS) -proteins on NPCs proliferation, show that the ZIKV-NS5 protein interacts with host proteins at the base of the primary cilia, causing an atypical non-genetic ciliopathy and premature neuron delamination. We seek to provide high resolution pictures of the ZIKV-NS5-cilia base proteins interactions, shedding new light into the mechanisms by which ZIKV-NS5 interferes with the molecular machinery of primary cilia formation and highlighting new potential targets for therapeutic intervention.