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How Viruses Like Zika Can Penetrate the Womb

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How Viruses Like Zika Can Penetrate the Womb

Aug 04, 2016

胎盘似乎是照顾胎儿的完美器官. 让好的东西进来,把坏的东西挡在外面. But the placenta isn’t perfect. OBGYN Dr. Kirtly Parker Jones 探索子宫是如何工作的,以及像寨卡病毒这样的感染是如何潜入子宫的防御系统,影响正在发育的胎儿的.

Episode Transcript

Dr. Jones: 如果子宫是一个如此安全的地方,寨卡病毒是如何进入的? This is Dr. 来自犹他卫生保健大学妇产科的Kirtly Parker Jones,大发娱乐是The Scope.

Announcer: Covering all aspects of women's health. This is "The Seven Domains of Women's Health" with Dr. Kirtly Jones on The Scope.

Dr. Jones: When I was a second-year medical student, 我认为子宫是一个非常安全的地方. 我用“吸收”这个词是因为我觉得他们没有教我这个, I think I just figured that out. 胎盘是完美的母亲,服务和保护胎儿. 胎盘积极地为发育中的胎儿输送一些营养物质,比如氧气和葡萄糖. 它的保护作用是阻止大分子进入,只有小分子才能进入. 这是一个很浪漫的想法,但我是一个很浪漫的医科学生.

By the time I was a third-year medical student, I was taught about congenital infections, infections in the child that start in the womb. 生猪肉和猫砂引起的弓形虫病等传染病, syphilis, well, from you know how. 这些不仅仅是分子,它们是整个生物体. They get through the placenta and into the fetus. 大发娱乐还了解了感染胎儿的水痘和风疹等病毒. 但在一个完全投入但过度投入的三年级医学生茫然的头脑中, I never really questioned how they did that.

如果子宫是保护胎儿的完美母亲,那么这些东西是如何进入的? 首先,重要的是要记住病毒是非常狡猾的. Here's a little bit on virus biology. 它们只是包裹在膜里的一小袋DNA. They don't have the ability to reproduce themselves. 它们进入细胞,劫持细胞的能量,DNA和蛋白质,使细胞制造更多的病毒. The interesting part is that viruses are choosy. 它们的表皮上有标记,附着在特定种类细胞的特定蛋白质上. 有些病毒喜欢呼吸道,但不喜欢皮肤. Some viruses like white cells, like the HIV virus.

The Zika virus, 这种病毒已经在受感染的母亲体内找到了细胞,可以变成寨卡病毒工厂, and the virus spreads throughout the mother's body. 然后病毒可能会特异性地附着在胎盘和羊膜上. 然后病毒将羊膜变成寨卡病毒工厂. 然后,寨卡病毒从羊膜细胞中孵化出来,进入胎儿周围的液体中,胎儿就被感染了. Specifically, the virus likes nerve cells; it likes fetal brain cells. It binds the fetal brain cell, 将其变成寨卡病毒工厂,然后在这个过程中杀死脑细胞.

寨卡病毒可能通过另一种机制进入子宫,那就是通过胎盘细胞渗漏,胎盘细胞是在妊娠早期形成的. 然后,病毒似乎特异性地附着在胚胎大脑的干细胞上. Destroying these cells, which have been infected by the virus, may explain why the findings of microcephaly, small brain, in some of the babies that were infected in pregnancy. The virus can get in at any time of pregnancy, 但它在怀孕的前三个月尤其成功,也有潜在的破坏性.

研究人员还发现,不同的寨卡病毒株更具传染性, 比其他人更能成功地劫持胎盘细胞. 早期的非洲毒株比现在的南美毒株传染性小, 哪一种更具传染性更容易感染胎儿. In fact, 它似乎不只是通过蚊子感染传播, but it's spread sexually from men to women and now, we think, from women to men. 也有可能是通过其他体液传播的.

Actually, 值得注意的是,胎盘和膜可以保护胎儿免受许多病毒的侵害. 大发娱乐所知道的只有少数病毒专门攻击胎盘细胞,然后继续感染和伤害胎儿. The chicken pox virus, 麻疹病毒和巨细胞病毒就是例子,大发娱乐有针对其中一些的疫苗. 了解病毒感染胎盘细胞的机制可以大发娱乐大发娱乐开发抗病毒药物和其他治疗方法.

病毒尤其成功,其分子外观变化迅速, meaning the way their face looks to different cells. So it may be difficult to make a vaccine. 或者因为寨卡病毒属于包括登革热黄热病在内的病毒家族,大发娱乐有针对其中一些病毒的疫苗, 大发娱乐也许能研制出针对这三种病毒的疫苗,也许不能.

同时,重要的是要记住,子宫并不是一个完全受保护的地方. 胎盘并不是一个完美的母亲,它只让好的东西进来,把坏的东西拒之门外. 大发娱乐需要记住为孕妇和可能感染病毒的孕妇大发娱乐提供保护, 空气和水污染中的药物和分子可以通过胎盘影响胎儿. Thanks for joining us on The Scope.

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