Zika virus (ZIKV) and nonhuman primates have been inextricably linked since the virus was first discovered in a sentinel rhesus macaque in Uganda in 1947. Soon after ZIKV was epidemiologically associated with birth defects in Brazil late in 2015, researchers capitalized on the fact that rhesus macaques are commonly used to model viral immunity and pathogenesis, quickly establishing macaque models for ZIKV infection. Within months, the susceptibility of pregnant macaques to experimental ZIKV challenge and ZIKV-associated abnormalities in fetuses was confirmed. This review discusses key unanswered questions in ZIKV immunity and in the pathogenesis of thecongenital Zika virus syndrome. We focus on those questions that can be best addressed in pregnant nonhuman primates and lessons learned from developing macaque models for ZIKV amid an active epidemic.

中文翻译：

---

利用猕猴解决寨卡病毒研究中的关键问题。


自从 1947 年在乌干达的一只哨兵恒河猴中首次发现寨卡病毒 (ZIKV) 以来，寨卡病毒 (ZIKV) 与非人类灵长类动物就有着千丝万缕的联系。2015 年末，寨卡病毒在巴西流行病学上与出生缺陷相关，不久之后，研究人员利用了恒河猴的这一事实：猕猴通常用于模拟病毒免疫和发病机制，快速建立寨卡病毒感染的猕猴模型。几个月内，怀孕猕猴对实验性 ZIKV 攻击的易感性以及 ZIKV 相关胎儿异常的情况得到证实。这篇综述讨论了 ZIKV 免疫和先天性寨卡病毒综合征发病机制中尚未解答的关键问题。我们重点关注那些在怀孕的非人类灵长类动物中最能解决的问题，以及在流行病流行期间开发寨卡病毒猕猴模型的经验教训。