ZIKV from two Asian and African strains infect differentially IPSc-derived NSCs
African ZIKV strain displays more infectivity and anti-viral response
African and Asian ZIKV strains infect and replicate efficiently in human astrocytes
Zika virus (ZIKV) is involved in a major epidemic in Latin America. Some neurological complications are reported following infection, in particular microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndromes. Analyses show that one Asian and two Africans lineages exist. Although originally discovered in Africa in 1947, the actual epidemic is due to Asian ZIKV. Here, we compared the virulence of two African and Asian ZIKV strains in neural cells. We showed that in human neural stem cells, African ZIKV strain had a higher infectivity and triggered stronger cellular response. Altogether, our results highlight the need to better characterize ZIKV lineages to anticipate further epidemics.