PATOGÊNESE DA MICROCEFALIA INDUZIDA PELO VÍRUS ZIKA: UMA REVISÃO DE LITERATURA.

Zika virus transmission has been identified in several Brazilian states. The recent outbreak of infection coincided with increased neurological complications such as congenital microcephaly, a malformation associated with decreased production of neurons as a consequence of cortical progenitor cell death and proliferative defects. In fact, animal studies showed the infection causes rupture of the blood-brain barrier, allowing an entry of the virus into the central nervous system. Microcephaly may occur as an isolated condition or be associated with seizures, motor, cognitive, among others, which vary according to degree of cerebral involvement. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate in the literature articles that deal with the pathogenesis of microcephaly caused by the Zika virus. The search for articles was limited between those published between january 2014 and october 2016, in portuguese and english, through the electronic databases -- BVS and Pubmed, using the key words: Zika virus, microcephaly, pathogenesis. Included in the research were articles that addressed the pathophysiological aspects of microcephaly caused by the Zika virus and articles available in full online. Six studies considered the eligibility criteria, where some mechanisms involved in the genesis of Zika virus-induced microcephaly, such as cell death by apoptosis, cell cycle inhibition, P53 protein activation, abnormal cell differentiation and inhibition of the Akt-mTOR pathway. However the pathogenesis of microcephaly caused by the Zika virus is not yet fully understood in the literature, so further studies are needed to fully elucidate how this virus causes human brain developmental abnormalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]