Abstract
BackgroundDue to the diversity of studies in animal models reporting that molecular mechanisms are involved in the teratogenic effect of the Zika virus (ZIKV), the objective of the present study is to evaluate the methodological quality of these studies, as well as to demonstrate which genes and which molecular pathways are affected by ZIKV in different animal models.MethodsThis search will be performed in four databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus, as well as in the grey literature. The studies selection process will be reported through the PRISMA Statement diagram model. All studies describing the molecular mechanisms possibly involved in the development of malformations caused by embryonic/fetal ZIKV exposure in animal models with an appropriate control group and methodology will be included (including, for instance, randomized and non-randomized studies). All animals used as experimental models for ZIKV teratogenesis may be included as long as exposure to the virus occurred during the embryonic/fetal period. From the selected studies, data will be extracted using a previously prepared standard form. Bias risk evaluation will be conducted following the SYRCLE’s Risk of Bias tool. All data obtained will be tabulated and organized by outcomes (morphological and molecular).DiscussionWith the proposed systematic review, we expect to present results about the methodological quality of the published studies with animal models that investigated the molecular mechanisms involved in the teratogenic effect of ZIKV, as well as to show the studies with greater reliability.Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42019157316
Highlights
Due to the diversity of studies in animal models reporting that molecular mechanisms are involved in the teratogenic effect of the Zika virus (ZIKV), the objective of the present study is to evaluate the methodological quality of these studies, as well as to demonstrate which genes and which molecular pathways are affected by ZIKV in different animal models
In 2015, a large increase of newborns with microcephaly was reported in Brazil [13], and it is already consolidated by the literature that this increase was due to the exposure to ZIKV infection during pregnancy [13, 18, 19]
The most concerning effects of ZIKV infection are related to pregnancy, when its infection can lead to a set of abnormalities related to impaired Central Nervous System development of the embryo/fetus
Summary
This search will be performed in four databases: PubMed/MEDLINE, EMBASE, Web of Science, and Scopus, as well as in the grey literature. The studies selection process will be reported through the PRISMA Statement diagram model. All studies describing the molecular mechanisms possibly involved in the development of malformations caused by embryonic/fetal ZIKV exposure in animal models with an appropriate control group and methodology will be included (including, for instance, randomized and non-randomized studies). All animals used as experimental models for ZIKV teratogenesis may be included as long as exposure to the virus occurred during the embryonic/fetal period. Data will be extracted using a previously prepared standard form. Bias risk evaluation will be conducted following the SYRCLE’s Risk of Bias tool. All data obtained will be tabulated and organized by outcomes (morphological and molecular)
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