Quantification of Neural Progenitor Cells From Zika Virus-Infected Zebrafish Embryos

Zika virus (ZIKV), an arthropod-borne orthoflavivirus, has emerged as a global health concern due to its ability to cause severe fetal neurological disorders, leading to the congenital Zika syndrome (CZS) in neonates. Vertical transmission during pregnancy can alter neural progenitor cell (NPC) proliferation and differentiation and induce apoptosis, leading to microcephaly and other neurodevelopmental abnormalities. While mammalian models have been used to study the impact of ZIKV on NPC behavior, limitations such as high costs, dedicated time, and ethical constraints have fostered the exploration of alternative systems. The zebrafish embryo constitutes an advantageous in vivo model for studying ZIKV neuropathogenesis. Indeed, ZIKV infection phenocopies several features of the CZS while sharing a conserved neuroanatomical layout and offering genetic plasticity and unique accessibility to the infected brain compared to mammals. Here, we describe a protocol for characterizing ZIKV-induced defects of NPCs in this zebrafish model, relying on whole animal flow cytometry. Key features • This protocol introduces a novel and straightforward zebrafish-based system for studying ZIKV-induced neuropathogenesis. • The protocol employs an unbiased methodology for flow cytometry-based quantification of neural progenitor cells from whole embryos. • This protocol can be transposed to any transgenic reporter zebrafish lines producing specific fluorescent cell populations.