Zika Virus (ZIKV) is an RNA virus that belongs to the Flavivirus (FV) genus. In the last years, several unique characteristics of ZIKV among FV have been revealed, as the multiple routes of transmission and its ability to reach different human tissues, including the central nervous system. Thus, one of the most intriguing features of ZIKV biology is its ability to cross diverse complex biological barriers. The main aim of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the still unclear mechanisms behind this viral activity. We investigated an African strain and two South American ZIKV isolates belonging to the Asian lineage, in order to characterize possible differences regarding their ability to disturb intercellular junctions. The Asian isolates correspond to an imported (Venezuelan) and an autochthonous (Argentinian) ZIKV strain for which there is still no data available. We focused on occludin and DLG1 expression as markers of tight and adherent junctions, respectively. For this, we applied a quantitative immunofluorescence assay that can ascertain alterations in the cell junction proteins expression in the infected cells. Our findings indicated that the different ZIKV strains were able to reduce the levels of both polarity proteins without altering their overall cell distribution. Moreover, the grade of this effect was strain-dependent, being the DLG1 reduction higher for the African and Asian Venezuelan isolates and, on the contrary, occludin down-regulation was more noticeable for the Argentinian strain. Interestingly, among both junction proteins the viral infection caused a relative larger reduction in DLG1 expression for all viruses, suggesting DLG1 may be of particular relevance for ZIKV infections. Taken together, this study contributes to the knowledge of the biological mechanisms involved in ZIKV cytopathogenesis, with a special focus on regional isolates.

寨卡病毒 (ZIKV) 是一种 RNA 病毒，属于黄病毒 (FV) 属。在过去几年中，ZIKV 在 FV 中的几个独特特征已被揭示，例如多种传播途径及其到达不同人体组织（包括中枢神经系统）的能力。因此，ZIKV 生物学最有趣的特征之一是它能够跨越各种复杂的生物屏障。这项研究的主要目的是有助于理解这种病毒活动背后仍不清楚的机制。我们调查了属于亚洲谱系的一种非洲菌株和两种南美 ZIKV 分离株，以描述它们在干扰细胞间连接的能力方面可能存在的差异。亚洲分离株对应于进口（委内瑞拉）和本土（阿根廷）ZIKV 毒株，目前尚无可用数据。我们分别关注 occludin 和 DLG1 表达作为紧密连接和粘附连接的标记。为此，我们应用了一种定量免疫荧光测定，可以确定受感染细胞中细胞连接蛋白表达的变化。我们的研究结果表明，不同的 ZIKV 菌株能够降低两种极性蛋白的水平，而不会改变它们的整体细胞分布。此外，这种效应的等级是菌株依赖性的，非洲和亚洲委内瑞拉分离株的 DLG1 减少更高，相反，阿根廷菌株的 occludin 下调更为明显。有趣的是，在两种连接蛋白中，病毒感染导致所有病毒的 DLG1 表达相对较大地减少，这表明 DLG1 可能与 ZIKV 感染特别相关。总之，这项研究有助于了解 ZIKV 细胞发病机制所涉及的生物学机制，特别关注区域分离株。