ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2020
The cyanobacterial saxitoxin exacerbates neural cell death and brain malformations induced by Zika virus.
Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 64 citations in OpenAlex.
- Human Organoids and Organ-on-Chip for Biotoxin Assessment: Applications, Best Practices, and a Translational Roadmap.Toxins · 2026Review
- Human Assembloid Model of Emergent Neurotropic Enteroviruses.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Article
- Saxitoxin: A Comprehensive Review of Its History, Structure, Toxicology, Biosynthesis, Detection, and Preventive Implications.Marine drugs · 2025Review
- The Application and Challenges of Brain Organoids in Exploring the Mechanism of Arbovirus Infection.Microorganisms · 2025Review
- Saxitoxin potentiates human neuronal cell death induced by Zika virus while sparing neural progenitors and astrocytes.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Zika virus infection histories in brain development.Disease models & mechanisms · 2023Review
- Review
- Permanent occurrence of Raphidiopsis raciborskii and cyanotoxins in a subtropical reservoir polluted by domestic effluents (Itupararanga reservoir, São Paulo, Brazil).Environmental science and pollution research international · 2022Article
- Using 2D and 3D pluripotent stem cell models to study neurotropic viruses.Frontiers in virology (Lausanne, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Neurodevelopment in Children Exposed to ZikaFrontiers in genetics · 2022Review
- Visual Acuity alterations in heavily impaired Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) children.Frontiers in ophthalmology · 2022Article
- Methodologies for Generating Brain Organoids to Model Viral Pathogenesis in the CNS.Pathogens (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Review
- A review exploring the overarching burden of Zika virus with emphasis on epidemiological case studies from Brazil.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2021Review
- Biologia Futura: the importance of 3D organoids-a new approach for research on neurological and rare diseases.Biologia futura · 2021Review
- Review
- Congenital Zika Syndrome Is Associated With Interferon Alfa Receptor 1.Frontiers in immunology · 2021Article
- The Age of Brain Organoids: Tailoring Cell Identity and Functionality for Normal Brain Development and Disease Modeling.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Review
- Recent Trends and Perspectives in Cerebral Organoids Imaging and Analysis.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Review
- Zika virus syndrome, lack of environmental policies and risks of worsening by cyanobacteria proliferation in a climate change scenario.Revista de saude publica · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
18 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The northeast (NE) region of Brazil commonly goes through drought periods, which favor cyanobacterial blooms, capable of producing neurotoxins with implications for human and animal health. The most severe dry spell in the history of Brazil occurred between 2012 and 2016. Coincidently, the highest incidence of microcephaly associated with the Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak took place in the NE region of Brazil during the same years. In this work, we tested the hypothesis that saxitoxin (STX), a neurotoxin produced in South America by the freshwater cyanobacteria Raphidiopsis raciborskii, could have contributed to the most severe Congenital Zika Syndrome (CZS) profile described worldwide. Quality surveillance showed higher cyanobacteria amounts and STX occurrence in human drinking water supplies of NE compared to other regions of Brazil. Experimentally, we described that STX doubled the quantity of ZIKV-induced neural cell death in progenitor areas of human brain organoids, while the chronic ingestion of water contaminated with STX before and during gestation caused brain abnormalities in offspring of ZIKV-infected immunocompetent C57BL/6J mice. Our data indicate that saxitoxin-producing cyanobacteria is overspread in water reservoirs of the NE and might have acted as a co-insult to ZIKV infection in Brazil. These results raise a public health concern regarding the consequences of arbovirus outbreaks happening in areas with droughts and/or frequent freshwater cyanobacterial blooms.
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