Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, and Professor Joaquim Amorim Neto Research Institute in Campina Grande, Brazil. The enzyme, adenylate cyclase, is required to make cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), which plays a role in placental development and other cellular processes, including the immune response to infection. The findings appear in the Journal of Internal Medicine.
The study enrolled 52 women who had given birth after testing positive for Zika virus infection. Of these women, 28 gave birth to children with reduced head size and other Zika-related birth defects; infants born to the remaining 24 women did not appear to have any Zika-related effects. After sequencing genes from the women, the researchers found that mothers of severely affected infants were more likely to have variations in two genes essential for making adenylate cyclase, ADCY3 and ADCY7.
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