Zika infects neural cells related to skull formation, affecting their function
Tuesday, October 4, 2016 - 07:51
in Biology & Nature
Cranial neural crest cells -- which give rise to the bones and cartilage of the skull -- are vulnerable to Zika virus. The discovery, made by infecting in vitro cultures of human cells, offers a potential mechanism for how children born with the virus can have smaller-than-average skulls and disproportionate facial features.