NLRP3 Inflammasome Activation Mediates Zika Virus–Associated Inflammation

Abstract

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne virus that has been identified as a cause of several severe disease manifestations, including congenital microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome, meningoencephalitis, and myelitis. Previous studies showed that ZIKV-infected patients exhibited elevated plasma levels of interleukin 1β (IL-1β), indicating that ZIKV may activate inflammasomes. However, the molecular basis for its viral pathogenesis remains poorly understood. In this current study, we found that ZIKV infection caused severe inflammatory pathological changes and promoted IL-1β production in vitro and in vivo. We here demonstrate that the maturation and secretion of IL-1β during ZIKV infection was mediated by NLRP3 inflammasome activation and that ZIKV nonstructural protein 5 (NS5) facilitated the assembly of the NLRP3 inflammasome complex, leading to IL-1β activation through interaction with NLRP3 and induction of reactive oxygen species production. Collectively, our data identify NLRP3 inflammasome-derived IL-1β production as a critical feature of inflammation during ZIKV infection. These findings offer new insights into inflammasome-mediated diseases and may provide new therapeutic options for ZIKV-associated diseases.