Antibody protects fetuses from Zika in preclinical model

Researchers showed that an antibody reduced viral load in pregnant mice infected with Zika virus, suggesting it could protect fetuses from Zika infection.

In a paper published Monday in Nature, a team led by James Crowe at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Michael Diamond at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis isolated a monoclonal antibody, ZIKV-117, from a human with prior Zika infection and found it "broadly neutralized" the virus in mice infected with Zika. In pregnant mouse models, treatment with ZIKV-117 either before or after Zika infection reduced viral levels in the mother, the placenta and fetal brain; decreased damage to the placenta; and increased offspring body size. These results suggest the antibody could reduce viral transmission from the mother to the fetus and neutralize infection in the fetus...