Division of Vector-borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Division of High-Consequence Pathogens and Pathology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
Sci Rep. 2018 Mar 14;8(1):4510. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-22840-6.
Zika virus (ZIKV) is an emerging mosquito-borne virus that can cause ZIKV congenital syndrome when a pregnant woman is infected. Sexual transmission has also been described for ZIKV, though the relationship between sexual transmission and vertical transmission has not been investigated. Here, viral dissemination to the female reproductive tract and fetuses was assessed in immunodeficient (AG129) female mice that were exposed to ZIKV by subcutaneous (s.c.) inoculation, intravaginal (ivag.) inoculation, or sexual transmission from infected male AG129 mice. Pregnant females had significantly increased ZIKV dissemination to the female reproductive tract compared to non-pregnant females when exposed by s.c. or ivag. inoculation. Sexual transmission resulted in significantly greater morbidity and mortality in females and higher ZIKV titers in the female reproductive tract than s.c. or ivag. inoculation. Ovaries from females infected sexually contained ZIKV RNA within the ovarian follicles. Furthermore, ZIKV titers were significantly higher in fetuses from dams exposed sexually compared to fetuses from dams exposed by s.c. or ivag. inoculation. These results demonstrate that sexual transmission enhances dissemination of ZIKV to the female reproductive tract and developing fetuses in a mouse model.
寨卡病毒（ZIKV）是一种新兴的蚊媒病毒，孕妇感染后会导致寨卡病毒先天性综合征。寨卡病毒也已经被描述为性传播疾病，尽管性传播与垂直传播之间的关系尚未得到研究。在这里，通过皮下（s.c.）接种、阴道内（ivag.）接种或感染雄性 AG129 小鼠的性传播，评估了免疫缺陷（AG129）雌性小鼠中寨卡病毒向雌性生殖道和胎儿的传播。与非怀孕雌性相比，通过 s.c. 或 ivag. 接种暴露的怀孕雌性，寨卡病毒向雌性生殖道的传播明显增加。性传播导致雌性的发病率和死亡率显著增加，雌性生殖道中的寨卡病毒滴度也高于 s.c. 或 ivag. 接种。性传播感染的雌性的卵巢中，卵泡内含有寨卡病毒 RNA。此外，与通过 s.c. 或 ivag. 接种暴露的母体的胎儿相比，通过性传播暴露的母体的胎儿中的寨卡病毒滴度明显更高。这些结果表明，在小鼠模型中，性传播增强了寨卡病毒向雌性生殖道和发育中胎儿的传播。
