Testing involved 20- to 26-week-old human fetal cells obtained after legal abortions or miscarriages and human primary astrocytes. The strain of Zika virus they used was isolated from a human case-patient in French Polynesia in 2013.
The team found that Aravive Biologic's engineered decoy AXL receptor, Aravive-S6, can block Zika infection by intercepting Gas6 to prevent AXL signaling. The drug developed by the Houston-based company is nearing its first clinical study for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. AXL signaling promotes tumor growth and metastasis and is also a mechanism involved in the infectivity of some viruses, so scientists are also exploring its potential use as an antiviral agent.
The French group and other scientists have said that inhibiting AXL action may be a target for future Zika treatments.
The scientists have published their findings in Cell Reports: Laurent Meertens, Athena Labeau, Ophelie Dejarnac et al. (2017): Axl Mediates ZIKA Virus Entry in Human Glial Cells and Modulates Innate Immune Responses. Cell Reports 18: 324–333.
Source:
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2017/01/study-sheds-more-light-zika-developing-brain-cells
http://aravive.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/FINAL-Aravive-Cell-Reports-010317jk.pdf