# Enhancement of Zika virus pathogenesis in neonates through dengue-specific maternal antibodies

> **NIH NIH R21** · ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI · 2020 · $211,267

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY:
Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus that has recently caused a large-scale outbreak in South and Central America,
and it continues to spread into new geographic areas. ZIKV attacks the nervous system in humans, in utero
and in adults, causing diseases ranging from microcephaly to Guillain-Barre syndrome. In both mice and
humans, maternal antibodies are transferred from mother to offspring through the placenta. Because ZIKV
circulates in many regions around the world where the related flavivirus, dengue virus (DENV), circulates,
children born to DENV-immune mothers will have circulating DENV antibodies at the time of birth. We recently
showed that cross-reactive DENV antibodies can enhance ZIKV pathogenesis in vivo. However, the extent to
which maternal DENV-specific antibodies impacts neonatal ZIKV infection is unknown. We hypothesize that
maternally-transferred DENV-specific antibodies enhance ZIKV damage to the neonates. In this application,
we will study antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) of ZIKV pathogenesis and its effects on development in
neonatal mice.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9859336
- **Project number:** 5R21AI144844-02
- **Recipient organization:** ICAHN SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AT MOUNT SINAI
- **Principal Investigator:** Jean Kyou Lim
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $211,267
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-02-01 → 2021-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9859336

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9859336, Enhancement of Zika virus pathogenesis in neonates through dengue-specific maternal antibodies (5R21AI144844-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9859336. Licensed CC0.

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