Neglected for years, Zika virus (ZIKV) has become one of the most relevant arboviruses in current public health. The recent Zika fever epidemic in the Americas generated a worldwide alert due to the association with diseases such as Guillain-Barré syndrome and congenital syndromes. Among the pathogenesis of ZIKV, recent studies suggest that oxidative stress plays an important role during infection and that compounds capable of modulating oxidative stress are promising as therapeutics. Furthermore, so far there are no specific and efficient antiviral drug or vaccine available against ZIKV. Thus, fullerol was evaluated in the context of infection by ZIKV, since it is a carbon nanomaterial known for its potent antioxidant action. In this study, fullerol did not alter cell viability at the concentrations tested, proving to be inert, beyond to presenting high antioxidant power at low concentrations. ZIKV infection of human glioblastoma increased the production of reactive oxygen species by 60% and modulated the Nrf-2 pathway activity negatively. After treatment with fullerol, both conditions were restored to baseline levels. Additionally, fullerol was able to reduce viral production by up to 90%. Therefore, our results suggest that fullerol as a promising candidate in the control of ZIKV infections, presenting both antioxidant and antiviral action.

多年来被忽视的寨卡病毒 (ZIKV) 已成为当前公共卫生中最相关的虫媒病毒之一。由于与吉兰-巴雷综合征和先天性综合征等疾病的关联，最近美洲的寨卡热流行引起了全球警报。在 ZIKV 的发病机制中，最近的研究表明，氧化应激在感染过程中起着重要作用，能够调节氧化应激的化合物有望作为治疗药物。此外，目前还没有针对 ZIKV 的特异性和有效的抗病毒药物或疫苗。因此，富勒醇是在 ZIKV 感染的背景下进行评估的，因为它是一种以其强效抗氧化作用而闻名的碳纳米材料。在这项研究中，富勒醇在测试的浓度下没有改变细胞活力，证明是惰性的，除了在低浓度下呈现高抗氧化能力。人胶质母细胞瘤的 ZIKV 感染使活性氧的产生增加了 60%，并对 Nrf-2 通路活性产生了负面影响。用富勒醇处理后，两种情况都恢复到基线水平。此外，富勒醇能够减少高达 90% 的病毒产生。因此，我们的结果表明富勒醇作为控制 ZIKV 感染的有希望的候选物，具有抗氧化和抗病毒作用。富勒醇能够减少高达 90% 的病毒产生。因此，我们的结果表明富勒醇作为控制 ZIKV 感染的有希望的候选物，具有抗氧化和抗病毒作用。富勒醇能够减少高达 90% 的病毒产生。因此，我们的结果表明富勒醇作为控制 ZIKV 感染的有希望的候选物，具有抗氧化和抗病毒作用。