Researchers have identified Zika-neutralizing antibodies that fully protected mice from infection

Researchers have identified Zika-neutralizing antibodies that fully protected mice from infection
Zika virus is a global concern because of its association with fetal microcephaly and neurological complications, and there are no approved countermeasures. In new work, Wang et al. isolated 13 antibodies from a patient infected with Zika virus, two of which (Z3L1 and Z23) showed potent neutralizing activity without cross-reactivity to dengue virus strains 1 to 4.

Moreover, the Z3L1 and Z23 antibodies conferred postexposure protection against Zika virus in a murine model. Structural studies indicated that the antibodies bound to different viral epitopes, suggesting that these antibodies could be used as a therapeutic cocktail.

Paper:
http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/8/369/369ra179.full

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