Zika virus impairs autophagic flux in trabecular meshwork, and inhibition of autophagy restricts ocular viral transmission and associated pathology

<i>In utero</i> exposure to Zika virus (ZIKV) causes congenital glaucoma; however, the molecular mechanisms of ZIKV-induced glaucoma remain unknown. Here, we demonstrated that ZIKV activates the autophagic activity in the trabecular meshwork and impairs the overall autophagic flux during infection to avoid autolysosomal maturation and uses late-endosomes/lysosomes for their egress. Inhibition of autophagy at late stages, specifically at the autophagosomal-lysosomal fusion stage, restricts viral replication and ZIKV-induced ocular complications.