Persistence of Zika virus RNA in the epididymis of the murine male reproductive tract

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dc.contributor.authorVogt, Megan B.en
dc.contributor.authorFrere, Francescaen
dc.contributor.authorHawks, Seth A.en
dc.contributor.authorPerez, Claudia E.en
dc.contributor.authorCoutermarsh-Ott, Sherylen
dc.contributor.authorDuggal, Nisha K.en
dc.contributor.departmentBiomedical Sciences and Pathobiologyen
dc.date.accessioned2021-07-20T18:48:06Zen
dc.date.available2021-07-20T18:48:06Zen
dc.date.issued2021-08en
dc.description.abstractZika virus (ZIKV) can infect developing fetuses in utero and cause severe congenital defects independent of route of maternal infection. Infected men can shed ZIKV RNA in semen for over six months. Whether prolonged viral RNA shedding in semen indicates a persistent infection in the male reproductive tract is unknown. We hypothesized that if ZIKV establishes a persistent infection in the male reproductive tract (MRT), then immunosuppressant treatment should stimulate ZIKV replication and seminal shedding. Male mice were infected with ZIKV and immunosuppressed when they shed viral RNA but not infectious virus in ejaculates. Following immunosuppression, we did not detect infectious virus in ejaculates. However, we did detect ZIKV positive and negative sense RNA in the epididymal lumens of mice treated with cyclophosphamide, suggesting that ZIKV persists in the epididymis. This study provides insight into the mechanisms behind ZIKV sexual transmission, which may inform public health decisions regarding ZIKV risks.en
dc.description.notesFunding for this project was provided by the NIAID (R21AI142504). We thank VT Laboratory Animal Research staff for contributions to animal husbandry and training for mouse procedures. We thank the VT ViTALS lab for processing tissues for microscopy and performing H&E staining.en
dc.description.sponsorshipNIAIDUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USANIH National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases (NIAID) [R21AI142504]en
dc.description.versionPublished versionen
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdfen
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.virol.2021.05.001en
dc.identifier.eissn1089-862Xen
dc.identifier.issn0042-6822en
dc.identifier.pmid34023724en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/104230en
dc.identifier.volume560en
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rightsCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 Internationalen
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/en
dc.subjectZika virusen
dc.subjectSexual transmissionen
dc.subjectMale reproductive tracten
dc.subjectEpididymisen
dc.subjectSemenen
dc.subjectRecrudescenceen
dc.subjectMouse modelen
dc.titlePersistence of Zika virus RNA in the epididymis of the murine male reproductive tracten
dc.title.serialVirologyen
dc.typeArticle - Refereeden
dc.type.dcmitypeTexten
dc.type.dcmitypeStillImageen

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