Zika Virus Proteins to Peptides International catalog

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - April 19, 2016 - PRLog -- With all the news and concern about the Zika virus pandemic currently developing, Peptides International is pleased to announce that the company has added five new Zika virus proteins to its recombinant protein catalog offerings.  These new products are to assist researchers with their drug discovery efforts.

Zika virus (ZIKV) belongs to the family Flaviviridae and the genus Flavivirus, and is transmitted by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A. aegypti and A. albopictus. The Zika virus is related to the dengue, yellow fever, Japanese encephalitis, and West Nile viruses.  Much like the other flaviviruses, Zika virus is enveloped and icosahedral and has a nonsegmented, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA genome.  Zika fever is an infection, which often causes no symptoms or only mild ones, like a mild form of dengue fever, and is treated by rest.  As of April 2016, there has been mounting evidence that Zika fever in pregnant women can cause abnormal brain development in their fetuses by mother-to-child transmission, which may result in miscarriage or microcephaly as confirmed by the CDC, however it is not yet known whether Zika virus causes microcephaly.  Furthermore, a connection has been established with neurologic conditions in infected adults, including Guillain-Barre syndrome.

"These new five Zika virus protein products are part of Peptides International's continuing commitment to drug discovery investigators, whose efforts exemplify the company's motto: research today, cures tomorrow," said the Director of Marketing, Robert Brousseau.

For more information, contact peptides@pepnet.com