Fig. 1. ZIKV-infected Ifnar^-/- mice exhibit clinical symptoms of neuropathology associated with immune cell infiltration of the brain.

C57BL/6 and Ifnar^-/- mice were infected with 4 × 10⁵ PFU ZIKV via FTPD. a Serum was collected at 3 dpi and brains were isolated at 7 dpi to quantify ZIKV by plaque assay (n =5, repeated once with similar results). b Representative images of a ZIKV plaque assay of serially diluted serum samples. c Representative images of H&E staining of the cortex of brains isolated from C57BL/6 and Ifnar^-/- mice. Scale bar represents 100 μm. d Representative images of TUNEL staining of sagittal sections of cerebral cortex and cerebellum at ×10 and ×40 magnification. Scale bar represents 100 μm. e Quantification of % TUNEL⁺ nuclei in the cortex and f the # of TUNEL⁺ cells /mm² within the granular layer (n =5, 3). g Representative flow cytometry plots of CD45⁺ cells isolated from PBS-treated (naïve) and ZIKV-infected Ifnar^-/- mice at 7 dpi. See also Supplementary Fig. 1 for gating strategy. h Quantification of brain immune cell populations following PBS or ZIKV infection, represented as the percentage of CD45⁺ cells (n =4, 5). i Comparison of CD8⁺ T cells as a percentage of CD45⁺ cells and j absolute count of CD8⁺ T cells in the brains of PBS and ZIKV-infected mice (n =4, 5). k ZIKV-infected Ifnar^-/- mice were assessed at 7 dpi for clinical symptoms of paralysis (n =5). Data represent mean ± SEM (a, e, f, h, i, j). Statistical significance was determined by two-tailed t-test (a, e, f, i, j) or two-way ANOVA with Sidak’s multiple comparison test (h). See also Supplementary Fig. 1. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.