# Engineering a human neuroimmune specific viral vector from Zika virus

> **NIH NIH R21** · ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY-TEMPE CAMPUS · 2024 · $183,518

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Inflammation has been implicated in nearly every neuropsychiatric and degenerative disease,
yet neuroimmune cells remain nearly intractable by every available therapeutic strategy. Small
molecule drugs consistently fail clinical trials, as neuroimmune signaling pathways have essential
pleiotropic functions in neighboring cell types. Meanwhile cell type selective therapies remain elusive,
as microglia, and other neuroimmune cells, are intrinsically resistant to gene therapy vectors.
Overcoming these unique challenges demands a new approach to medicine, drawing from an unlikely
source of neuroimmune specific bioactivity.
 In nature, the Zika virus (ZKV) infects microglia, suppresses inflammation, and stimulates
autophagy so expertly that almost half of infections go unnoticed. If this bioactivity could be safely
refined, it would offer relief for neurodegenerative disorders from Parkinson’s to Alzheimer's disease.
Parsing therapeutic from pathogenic mechanisms of the ZKV genome presents much greater
complexity than ever previously addressed, but recent advances make it possible. Recombinant ZKV
vectors, already in use, provide starting material for synthetic biology, while new viral assisted and
continuous evolution methods allow bioengineering at scales capable of reshaping whole genomes.
We can harness ZKV’s microglia specific immunosuppressive mechanisms into therapies with
potential beyond any current technology. This proposal presents the first steps along the path
towards an entirely new kind of therapy for neurodegenerative disorders.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10884351
- **Project number:** 5R21EB034970-02
- **Recipient organization:** ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY-TEMPE CAMPUS
- **Principal Investigator:** Benjamin B Bartelle
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $183,518
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-07-07 → 2026-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10884351

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10884351, Engineering a human neuroimmune specific viral vector from Zika virus (5R21EB034970-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10884351. Licensed CC0.

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