Flaviviruses such as Zika virus (ZIKV) induce reorganization of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes to facilitate viral replication. Here, using 3D super resolution microscopy, ZIKV infection is shown to induce the formation of dense tubular matrices associated with viral replication in the central ER to. Viral non-structural proteins NS4B and NS2B are enriched within the ZIKV-induced tubular matrix where they associate with replication complexes but exhibit distinct ER distributions outside this central ER region. To determine if ZIKV-induced ER reorganization can be used as an indicator of viral infection, we trained a deep convolutional neural network to classify cells as ZIKV-infected or non-infected based on ER morphology. The network successfully identified ZIKV-induced central ER reorganization as a predictor of viral infection. Given the need to combat ER reorganizing viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2 responsible for COVID-19, this deep learning-based methodology could be used to rapidly screen for drugs that inhibit viral infection.
SUPER RESOLUTION MICROSCOPY AND DEEP LEARNING IDENTIFY ZIKA VIRUS REORGANIZATION OF THE ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM