Figure 7: Cleaved caspase-3 immunofluorescence of infected organoid. After infection, one may use apoptotic indicators to investigate the mechanisms of cell death that occur within the organoids. In this example, day 24 organoids were exposed to ZIKV at MOI=0.1, and cryosectioned 6 days later. (A) Uninfected organoids show no viral envelope (4G2 protein), and a minimal amount of cleaved caspase-3 due to homeostatic apoptosis occurring in the tissue. (B) Infected rosettes begin to show increased levels of apoptosis. (C) Rosettes that are showing severe infection via 4G2 staining also tend to exhibit high levels of cleaved caspase-3 in these regions. There is a direct correlation between infection severity and cleaved caspase-3 expression within the infected rosettes. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
