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Zika virus replicates in adult human brain tissue and impairs synapses and memory in mice

Overview of attention for article published in Nature Communications, September 2019
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About this Attention Score

  • In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age (96th percentile)
  • High Attention Score compared to outputs of the same age and source (80th percentile)

Mentioned by

news
5 news outlets
twitter
41 tweeters
facebook
3 Facebook pages

Citations

dimensions_citation
116 Dimensions

Readers on

mendeley
201 Mendeley
Title
Zika virus replicates in adult human brain tissue and impairs synapses and memory in mice
Published in
Nature Communications, September 2019
DOI 10.1038/s41467-019-11866-7
Pubmed ID
Authors

Claudia P. Figueiredo, Fernanda G. Q. Barros-Aragão, Rômulo L. S. Neris, Paula S. Frost, Carolina Soares, Isis N. O. Souza, Julianna D. Zeidler, Daniele C. Zamberlan, Virginia L. de Sousa, Amanda S. Souza, André Luis A. Guimarães, Maria Bellio, Jorge Marcondes de Souza, Soniza V. Alves-Leon, Gilda A. Neves, Heitor A. Paula-Neto, Newton G. Castro, Fernanda G. De Felice, Iranaia Assunção-Miranda, Julia R. Clarke, Andrea T. Da Poian, Sergio T. Ferreira

Abstract

Neurological complications affecting the central nervous system have been reported in adult patients infected by Zika virus (ZIKV) but the underlying mechanisms remain unknown. Here, we report that ZIKV replicates in human and mouse adult brain tissue, targeting mature neurons. ZIKV preferentially targets memory-related brain regions, inhibits hippocampal long-term potentiation and induces memory impairment in adult mice. TNF-α upregulation, microgliosis and upregulation of complement system proteins, C1q and C3, are induced by ZIKV infection. Microglia are found to engulf hippocampal presynaptic terminals during acute infection. Neutralization of TNF-α signaling, blockage of microglial activation or of C1q/C3 prevent synapse and memory impairment in ZIKV-infected mice. Results suggest that ZIKV induces synapse and memory dysfunction via aberrant activation of TNF-α, microglia and complement. Our findings establish a mechanism by which ZIKV affects the adult brain, and point to the need of evaluating cognitive deficits as a potential comorbidity in ZIKV-infected adults.

Twitter Demographics

The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 41 tweeters who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 201 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
Unknown 201 100%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Bachelor 38 19%
Student > Ph. D. Student 28 14%
Researcher 24 12%
Student > Master 22 11%
Student > Doctoral Student 10 5%
Other 34 17%
Unknown 45 22%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Neuroscience 30 15%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 28 14%
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 22 11%
Immunology and Microbiology 21 10%
Medicine and Dentistry 15 7%
Other 29 14%
Unknown 56 28%

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 63. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 25 August 2021.
All research outputs
#595,673
of 23,491,765 outputs
Outputs from Nature Communications
#10,397
of 48,744 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#13,590
of 341,796 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Nature Communications
#289
of 1,462 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 23,491,765 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 97th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 48,744 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 56.3. This one has done well, scoring higher than 78% of its peers.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 341,796 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 96% of its contemporaries.
We're also able to compare this research output to 1,462 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done well, scoring higher than 80% of its contemporaries.