title: Human muscle satellite cells as targets of Chikungunya virus infection.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Chikungunya (CHIK) virus is a mosquito-transmitted alphavirus that causes in humans an acute infection characterised by fever, polyarthralgia, head-ache, and myalgia. Since 2005, the emergence of CHIK virus was associated with an unprecedented magnitude outbreak of CHIK disease in the Indian Ocean. Clinically, this outbreak was characterized by invalidating poly-arthralgia, with myalgia being reported in 97.7% of cases. Since the cellular targets of CHIK virus in humans are unknown, we studied the pathogenic events and targets of CHIK infection in skeletal muscle.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Immunohistology on muscle biopsies from two CHIK virus-infected patients with myositic syndrome showed that viral antigens were found exclusively inside skeletal muscle progenitor cells (designed as satelllite cells), and not in muscle fibers. To evaluate the ability of CHIK virus to replicate in human satellite cells, we assessed virus infection on primary human muscle cells; viral growth was observed in CHIK virus-infected satellite cells with a cytopathic effect, whereas myotubes were essentially refractory to infection.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This report provides new insights into CHIK virus pathogenesis, since it is the first to identify a cellular target of CHIK virus in humans and to report a selective infection of muscle satellite cells by a viral agent in humans.
authors.affiliation: Unité Epidémiologie et Physiopathologie des Virus Oncogènes-CNRS URA1930, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ozden
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huerre
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Riviere
authors.forename: Lark L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Coffey
authors.forename: Philippe V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Afonso
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mouly
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: de Monredon
authors.forename: Jean-Christophe
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Roger
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El Amrani
authors.forename: Jean-Luc
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Yvin
authors.forename: Marie-Christine
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Jaffar
authors.forename: Marie-Pascale
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Frenkiel
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sourisseau
authors.forename: Olivier
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: Gillian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Butler-Browne
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Desprès
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gessain
authors.forename: Pierre-Emmanuel
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Ceccaldi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D018354:Alphavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002646:Chikungunya virus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D032496:Satellite Cells, Skeletal Muscle / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology*