Fig. 3

ZIKV infection of CNS cultures causes cell death. a, b Graphs of percentage of pyknotic nuclei of each major neural cell type at the post-infection (hpi) time points and MOI indicated. Cell death was assessed on the basis of DAPI +ve nuclear morphology (see M&M). Statistically significant differences relative to mock infected controls (green) are indicated by stars. c-e Graphs of total densities (grey bars) and infected cell densities (black bars) of each of the 5 major neural cell types at the day of infection (Day 0; c) and at 6 days post infection (dpi) in mock (d) and ZIKV (e) infected cultures. Percentage infected is indicated above each bar. f Graph of healthy nuclei (grey bars) and pyknotic nuclei (black bars) at day 0 and at 6 dpi in mock infected or ZIKV infected cultures. There is a significant increase in the density of pyknotic nuclei (average 26%) in ZIKV infected cultures compared to mock infected controls (average 5%), although the reduction in the density of healthy nuclei in ZIKV infected cultures does not reach significance. Bars represent mean ± SD; n = 3 except DIV 0 counts which are from one experiment only. * = p ≤ 0.05; ** = p ≤ 0.01