title: A Mouse Model of Zika Virus Sexual Transmission and Vaginal Viral Replication.
abstract: Case reports of Zika virus (ZIKV) sexual transmission and genital persistence are mounting. Venereal transmission and genital persistence threaten public health within and beyond the range of ZIKV's mosquito vectors. In this study, we administered ZIKV into the vaginas of AG129 mice and LysMCre+IFNARfl/flC57BL/6 mice after hormonal treatments. Mice infected during estrus-like phase were resistant to vaginal infection. In contrast, when infected during diestrus-like phase, AG129 mice succumbed to infection, whereas LysMCre+IFNARfl/flmice experienced transient illness. Patency of transgenital transmission (TGT) in diestrus-like mice was demonstrated by detection of viremia and ZIKV replication in spleen and brain, and viral RNA persisted in vaginal washes as late as 10 days post-infection. In these lethal and sublethal mouse models, this study indicates that intravaginal deposition of ZIKV can cause TGT, hormonal changes in the female reproductive tract (FRT) influence transmission, and ZIKV replication persists in the FRT for several days.
authors.affiliation: Division of Inflammation Biology, La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, 9420 Athena Circle, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: William Weihao
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Division of Inflammation Biology, La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, 9420 Athena Circle, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew Perry
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: Division of Inflammation Biology, La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, 9420 Athena Circle, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Anila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mamidi
authors.affiliation: Division of Inflammation Biology, La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, 9420 Athena Circle, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Jose Angel
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Regla-Nava
authors.affiliation: Division of Inflammation Biology, La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, 9420 Athena Circle, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Inflammation Biology, La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology, 9420 Athena Circle, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA. Electronic address: sujan@lji.org.
authors.forename: Sujan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shresta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D060737:Reproductive Tract Infections / Q000473:pathology / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D014621:Vagina / Q000473:pathology / Q000821:virology*; D019562:Viral Load / Q000235:genetics; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000235:genetics*; D000071244:Zika Virus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D000071243:Zika Virus Infection / Q000473:pathology / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology
keywords: Zika virus; diestrus; genital; mouse model; semen; sexual; sperm; vagina; venereal