Zika virus (ZIKV) infection has been associated with the development of Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder (NMOSD). ZIKV-induced antibodies that putatively cross-react to aquaporin-4 (AQP4) protein are suggested to cause inflammation of the optic nerve. A region of similarity between AQP4 and the ZIKV NS2B protein was identified. Our data showed that ZIKV-associated NMOSD patients develop anti-AQP4 antibodies, but not anti-ZIKV NS2B antibodies, revealing that cross-reacting antibodies are not the underlying cause of this phenotype. ZIKV infection in mice showed persistent viral replication in the eye tissue, suggesting that NMOSD symptoms are consequence of viral infection of the optic nerve cells.

寨卡病毒 (ZIKV) 感染与视神经脊髓炎谱系障碍 (NMOSD) 的发展有关。假定与水通道蛋白 4 (AQP4) 蛋白发生交叉反应的 ZIKV 诱导的抗体被认为会引起视神经炎症。鉴定了 AQP4 和 ZIKV NS2B 蛋白之间的相似区域。我们的数据显示，与 ZIKV 相关的 NMOSD 患者会产生抗 AQP4 抗体，但不会产生抗 ZIKV NS2B 抗体，这表明交叉反应抗体不是这种表型的根本原因。小鼠 ZIKV 感染在眼组织中显示出持续的病毒复制，这表明 NMOSD 症状是视神经细胞病毒感染的结果。